Strange Encounters
by Sweet Cocoa
Summary: When Riddick left Jack and Imam on Helion Prime his plan was to go directly to Planet 6 in the UV System and hide out. What if he had to make a slight detour before he got there and ended up in more trouble than he had bargained for.. Please Read & Review
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: Character Riddick taken from Pitch Black along with others mentioned from that same movie and all other characters are of my own creation.**_

_**Your Reviews are very much appreciated**_

_**When Riddick left Jack and Imam on Helion Prime his plan was to go directly to Planet 6 in the UV System and hide out. What if he had to make a slight detour before he got there and ended up in more trouble than he had bargained for... Please Read & Review**_

**Chapter 1**

_You'd think I would have learned not to travel on Commuter transport ships by now . . . but go figure_ . . . Richard B. Riddick thought to himself. He lay in his cryo-pod with his eyes closed, as his primitive animal side was now awake. His senses were sharper than that of normal human beings, as he sensed out his location making himself fully aware of his so-called surroundings on the ship.

"Welcome to Planet Sorarian! Please ensure to remove all your belongings before you depart and enjoy your stay!" The overhead sound system boomed statically throughout the Passenger section of the old rust bucket of a star ship.

The electronic locks on the cryo-pods unlocked and automatically opened to allow their occupants to awaken and depart. Riddick slowly stood up and surveyed his area as he stretched out his body just like a cat getting ready to go on the prowl. He had spent a few weeks in cryo stasis and his muscles were stiff from lack of movement. The room was full of the sound of people, men and women some with kids all gathering their belongings to exit the ship. Lighting in the passenger section was very low and the air was thin as it reeked of rusted old metal.

The low light didn't impair Riddick's vision; he had kept his protective goggles on in preparation for what he might find outside. He put on his hooded cloak over his baldhead and adjusted the shiv, his bladed weapon of choice in his back pocket. Making sure that he was the last to leave the ship, he stepped out on to the docking port. His details were looked over by security and all was well his faked credentials had him down as a Merc called Johns. A name he had taken from a Merc who had previously captured him only to wind up dead on that crazy alien planet. He and a few other people had crash-landed with almost no hope of escape months ago. _Humph he sighed . . . told the motherfucker to ghost me_ . . . he thought. He smiled to himself thinking about Johns in his final moment before the alien beast had split his head in to two.

The air on Planet Sororian was warm outside for the moment and the Sun was on the verge of setting. There were shades of red, yellow and purple clouds in the sky. Many of the buildings around were mostly what appeared to be rundown warehouses where all the lowlifes appeared to be hanging out. Further up the town the buildings were cleaner and better looked after. This was the business sector more computerised and full of upper class people who had little or no interest in the poorer parts of Sororian City.

Riddick headed for the run down side of Sororian City. He aimed to keep as low a profile as possible while he was here. Coming to Sororian hadn't been planned. Some Mercs had tracked his ship and caused him to change to a commuter ship. Mercs always messed up shit but he wasn't changing his plan he still aimed to get to Planet 6 in the UV System, just needed a new ship that couldn't be tracked for the moment. His thoughts ran on Imam and Jack, the only other survivors from the crash who he had left on Helion Prime in New Mecca a few months ago. They had been through so much together and yet he knew it had been for the best he didn't want Jack to grow up to be like him. She deserved a better life than that… It was better if he didn't have to worry about anybody else getting hurt or worse killed because of him._ Damn mercs always on my tail_ he growled to himself. But then he wondered the caring part wasn't so bad it was just a feeling that was very foreign to him in his life.

His cloak flapped in the warm breeze as he walked through the city. He figured he might be able to stay here for a week at the most and find a ship before some merc tracked him down again. The people didn't pay him any attention as he walked past them. He was taking in the scents around him of leather, dirt, and bodily waste; the food smells intrigued him most although it was spoiled and out of date. While one particular scent now was pulling his interest as it had started the hunger pains in his stomach off again. It slowly reminded him just how hungry he was and that he hadn't eaten anything in a while. The smell was emanating from a Bar Restaurant just up ahead. I _got no credits . . . I can't afford to pay for a decent meal _he thought _but maybe I can make a deal_. Walking towards the establishment now the building didn't look too bad. The windows were all blacked out and the holographic sign outside flashed red on and off "ZATLAND BAR/RESTAURANT". Reaching the entrance memories of past encounters in bars flashed through his mind none of them had ever been good. Some guy with more guts than brains had always pushed things too far and pissed him off. _Fuck it. ... Shit happens bring it on!_ He thought as he entered the bar.

_**To be continued..**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"AAAaaarrrrgh!!"

The young man screamed in absolute agony. Smoke rose from his body as every fibre of his being was on fire. The pain was worse than he had ever imagined it to be. But he had to keep it together he would never tell his interrogator what he wanted to know. His mind was a jumble of information and the mental probe that was being used to rip the information from his brain was nearing maximum level.

"You really didn't believe that I would let you get away with it did you ... Jason?"

Gabriel Chambers said smugly as he walked around Jason's manacled body. They had strapped him in to a chair and attached all manner of coloured wires and links to him. Jason only just managed to raise his bloodshot hazel eyes enough to glare back at Gabriel with disgust "Do your worst Gabriel! You won't find what you are looking for!" Gabriel's anger rose as he grabbed Jason by the hair and punched him in the face. Blood trickled down Jason's face from his nose as he smiled through the pain revealing his now blood stained teeth.

"Is that all you got!!"

He stayed calm, as he hated losing control like that. Watching Jason, he could finally see the young man show his true strength of will. It made him wish that he had asked Jason to join his inner circle sooner as he would have been a great asset, but it was too late now. Gabriel stroked his hand through his mane of greying black thick hair and sighed. He would however keep the young mans DNA on file for the further study of improving intelligence in others he thought.

"You give me no further choice now Jason but to proceed with a mind wipe! Is that what you want, to be my personal slave?"

Jason knew exactly what Gabriel wanted to do as he had invented the procedure, not realising the implications and power it would give the man. Regardless of this he was prepared for this he had worked with Gabriel long enough to know how his devilish scientific mind worked. Gabriel was only interested in anything for the glory of power, money and his love of experimentation no matter what the risks. His belief was that no price was too high to pay for a scientific accomplishment.

With his mind already on the brink of insanity and tears streaking down his face Jason mustered enough strength to respond "Fuck you Gabriel! I would rather die than tell you a damn thing!"

"Very well Jason, have it your way. I did have such high hopes for us working together but alas if this is how it must be then so be it. I have other ways of getting what I want which you will soon find out!"

Gabriel looked to his right over at the control centre where his colleague was standing; His second in command Drake Pearson. Drake was a 6"3" psycho who didn't give a shit about anyone and always did whatever he had to do to get the job done. It was one of the reasons why Gabriel favoured him so much. He gave the order for Drake to continue with the torture. As he clicked away at the buttons and set the charges near maximum level it all appeared to be going in slow motion to Jason. His mind wandered as he thought _of his last coms message the one he had sent to his best friend a few days before_.

"Hey Sin! Hope all is well? Miss you heaps girl!! Guess what? My life is not as great as I was hoping it would be. This new Job could be the death of me Sin . . . . . All through our childhood you had my back and I just wanted to make it on my own you know. ... Wanted you to be proud of me. ... But I need your help now more than ever. ... Don't know how much time I have before they find me. ... I'm going to be tough like you always were come what may… Shit . . . they are coming. ... You will find all you need to know in our favourite place . . . Sorry I can't say more than that gotta go Sin . . . I love you."

Just then Drake flipped the power switch. In the split second between the sparks of energy travelling down the cable to shock Jason his last thought in his minds eye was _Sin!! I will never forget you. ..._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"I'm here to see a Jason Munroe?"

The Secretary looked blankly at the hooded stranger in front of her before responding. Acting slightly flustered at being bothered even though she had in actual fact been doing nothing at all. She replied.

"Sorry ... I didn't get your name? Who are you?"

The hooded figure before her removed their hood to reveal a full mane of black / brown shoulder length wavy hair. The stranger was female, she had a very attractive face; with full lips and almond shaped brown eyes, her skin was golden brown with a slight glow to it.

"I'm Riley ... Riley Sinclair"

She said as she reached out her fingerless black-leather gloved hand to the Secretary.

"Sorry about that ... I always forget how strange I look with my hood on"

She smiled briefly. The Secretary simply looked blankly at her and took back her hand, which Riley had shaken to her dismay. She wiped her hand on her skirt in disgust. Directing Ms. Sinclair to take a seat she informed her that someone would be along to see her shortly.

Riley stepped back and walked over to take a seat. She hated corporate types who turned their nose up at ordinary people. Not that she herself was ordinary; being apart of the Elite Special Galactic Forces afforded her with some powerful credentials. She could go just about anywhere she needed to. But she wasn't on official business here today. Her best friend needed her help and it was as good a time as any for her to get away. She was after all thinking of packing the whole job in anyway.

The waiting area was quiet way too quiet for Riley's liking. It was an extremely sterile room with no natural scents what so ever. The only scent Riley was picking up was that of the Secretary all perfume and cinnamon fresh. She had observed that there were security cameras located around the room one above the secretary and another at the main entrance. There was also a scanner at the door, they did both fingerprint and retina scans here as well she noted. All in all a pretty damn secure place. She started to wonder what they could possibly have to hide behind all this secure set up. The fact that Jason hadn't really talked about his work in all their recent com chats started to bug her. He was always asking her to tell him about her latest investigation and never really telling her anything about himself.

Gabriel Chambers was relaxing with his feet up on his desk. It had been a long busy day and torturing Jason Munroe had proved to be more arduous than normal. This was due in part to the fact that the young man had tried to outsmart him by doing some programming of his own. He was indeed far more intelligent than he had originally let on. But now he just wanted to shut his eyes for a moment, as he rarely had any moments of peace these days. His mind started to drift to potential plans he had for new business, just then his com link went off and he ignored it at first he thought he was imagining it. The link rang out two more times before he dared to pick it up.

"What the Fuck is it? This had better be important! I told you not to Fucking disturb me!" he barked in response.

"I'm sorry Sir . . . . . But umm you have a visitor . . . . . Some woman to see Jason Munroe, she is on the main monitor in the waiting room"

Gabriel jumped up like he had been struck by lightening. _Could this be who Jason was passing the information too? They wouldn't be so foolish as to come directly here? Would they?_ He wondered. He looked at the monitors and saw the woman. She was very attractive; and didn't look like much of a threat to him, but maybe he could have some fun finding out. He smiled wickedly to himself as his imagination began to run wild. He called Drake to alert him to this so called new development that he was going to investigate . . . . . thoroughly.

The main building doors opened and Riley snapped herself back to the here and now, she had a feeling that she needed to keep her wits about her right now. It wasn't Jason at the door but some guy dressed all in black as though he were a priest. His black slightly greying hair was tied back in a ponytail and he wasn't clean-shaven. Riley figured he was about 6"2" or 6"3" at the most and very lean if only slightly muscular.

"Welcome Ms. Sinclair, I'm Gabriel Chambers, the Owner of Chambers Enterprises"

He reached out his hand to shake hers and smiled.

"If you would come this way with me please"

Riley was still preoccupied with where Jason was and why he wasn't here to see her instead of this guy Gabriel who gave her a strange vibe. They went through to an office. It had a desk, a few chairs and black full-length sofa. There was a huge window that gave a beautiful view of the Sororian skyline as the sun was setting now. She had forgotten how beautiful things could be on Sororian as she realised it had been a while since she had been home and a lot of things had indeed changed.

Gabriel ushered her to take a seat as he sat himself down directly opposite her and kept eye contact with her for a few moments. His eyes were a very striking deep ice blue but they didn't intimidate Riley she had faced a lot worse in her time.

"I'm sorry Ms. Sinclair . . . I don't know how to tell you this, as I'm not sure how close you were to Jason but he seems to have disappeared. He hasn't been at work for over a week and we were all starting to worry about him; we even tried to contact him at home but we have had no reply."

Riley looked away from his gaze she was puzzled by what he had just said. Where would he have gone? Or worse still was he even alive? She contained her emotions as she cursed herself for not getting there sooner.

"I'm a close friend of Jason's . . . . . He is like a brother to me, and please ... Call me Riley she looked quite serious now "Do you happen to know when he was last seen? And where?"

Gabriel looked at her curiously as he studied her closely. She hadn't responded in a way that he had expected at all her emotional responses were extremely controlled. For a woman who had just been told that a friend who was indeed like a brother might have disappeared? This woman appeared to be a lot tougher than he had at first thought. Most of all she did not seem at all surprised by Jason's so called disappearance.

"Unfortunately we have no idea. There has been a growth in the number of people who are disappearing on Sororian due to drugs and murder. Crime rates have been on the rise lately and I don't want to think that the worst could have happened to Jason... He was one of my most prized employees after all"

Riley felt that there was something wrong with this Jason wouldn't lie to her something was wrong she just wasn't sure what it was yet. Then she remembered what Jason had said "our favourite place" that was where he said she would find all she needed to know.

"Is there something wrong Riley? Would you like a drink?"

She looked up at Gabriel thinking to her self I have to get out of here and I don't trust this guy.

"No I'm fine it's just been a long day that's all I really should be getting on, I'm sorry to have taken up your time"

She smiled as she stood up and walked to leave. Gabriel quickly got up and walked over to open the door; he took Riley's hand and kissed it.

"If I can offer any further help with your search for Jason please don't hesitate to contact me. Maybe we will meet again? Perhaps under better circumstances. ... I hope? "

Riley thought yuck, she hated when men got overly friendly like that. She had given him no reason to believe that she was interested. But then most guys didn't care about that they just wanted to have fun and boy had she given them all something quite painful to remember.

"Perhaps ... Thank you for your time Mr. ... Chambers"

She quickly left and didn't look back if she had she would have seen Gabriel staring after her with a great lust in his eyes. He quickly called Drake and told him to follow her he wanted to know her every move there was something different about this woman and he wanted to know what it was.

Riley walked swiftly as she pulled her hood back up over her head. _I should have gone to ZATLAND from the beginning. How could I have been so fucking stupid? No not stupid I was just concerned about Jay_. She walked through the back streets of Sororian city. This whole area she knew like the back of her hand it hadn't changed as much as she had at first thought. Climbing up and over fences, walls and running through some alleyways she finally felt at home. She smiled to herself as she climbed the last wall as there across the street was ZATLAND and it had not changed a bit.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Having eaten the last scraps of food from his plate Riddick eased back in to his chair. The growling in his hungry stomach had finally subsided. He looked around the establishment and it was pleasant enough, in some ways better than some of the other bars he had been to. The bar was a lot more spacious than it had first looked from the outside. Rows of stools stood by the main bar and a handful of square misshapen tables were placed in various positions around the rest of the building. There were a few people seated around mostly drunk middle-aged men, who seemed to be more out of it than normal. Riddick had chosen to sit at the table in the farthest corner. It gave him a viewpoint of every angle of infiltration and escape should he have to move in a hurry plus it was the darkest area in the place and that was just fine by him.

Riley entered the bar casually she wasn't sure what to expect. It had been at least about 6 years since she had passed through these doors. She wondered if Harley was still running the joint. He had been a great friend and the closest thing to a father figure that she had ever known while growing up on Sororian. The place smelled the same of alcohol, spices and old wood and metal.

"Hello there stranger how can I help? Would you like a beverage or a hot meal?"

A middle-aged gentleman was standing behind the bar with the biggest smile on his face. He had a very sincere and kind smile with nothing but honesty behind it. The man was portly and about 5"5" with way more grey hairs than she had expected to see. Riley pulled back her hood to reveal herself.

"Hi Harley, It's been a long time old friend"

Harley looked at her, his face taking on a surprised look now. He rushed around the bar to greet her.

"Oh my god, Riley . . . It really is you . . . Isn't it . . .? My dear it has been too long"

The memories of Harley's bear hugs came flooding back as she struggled to breath through his grasp. She smiled through it as she hugged him back in return and realised just how much she had truly missed him. He smelled just as she had remembered, of musk, old spice and alcohol. The only changes were that he was slightly balder than he had been a few years ago and his build was a lot stockier.

"Yea . . . . I'm here on . . . Business . . . . And . . . To spend time with old friends. Speaking of friends did Jay happen to leave anything here with you for me?"

"Come to think of it yes he did funnily enough. I thought he was kidding about it being for you to be honest . . . I didn't think you were ever coming back."

Riddick was watching the exchange from his vantage point in the corner. His hood was down and his goggles were firmly strapped on covering his eyes. The slight darkness in the room only made his vision that much more acute and even more so when he removed his goggles. He had placed his right hand that was firmly gripped on his shiv under the table as he continued to observe the woman and the barman.

Surprisingly Riddick wasn't the only man observing Riley's interaction with Harley. Drake was watching from across the street through some enhanced telescopic lenses that allowed him to see through walls and all types of structures. He had set himself up in the warehouse opposite after following Riley all the way to the bar. Gabriel was indeed right there was something about this woman. He managed to keep up with her swift pace and noticed that she was extremely agile and swift. But he wanted to test her and see what she could really do if confronted. Calling in some of his men, ones that were not too closely associated with him and Gabriel he sent them over to make some trouble for Harley and stir things up a little.

Harley had gone back behind the bar to get the package and Riley waited for his return. She hoped that this would lead her to Jason and that somehow some way he was still alive. Because if he wasn't she was going to make damn sure that whoever was responsible would pay with a vengeance.

The doors to the bar opened behind her and she acknowledged that four men had now entered. Two of them had more brawn that brains by the looks of them, big, extremely tall and overly muscle-bound individuals. The other two were leaner both about 5"9" and 5"10, with greasy hair and dirty clothes god only knows if they knew what a bath was used for! She thought.

They were now standing at the bar gathered around her, their stench was almost more than she could bear. One of them then banged on the counter to demand attention from the bar owner. Harley rushed back looking alarmed as he saw the men at the counter.

"Rax I wasn't expecting you till tomorrow?"

"Oh come now Harley is that anyway to talk to your would be protectors?"

The shorter of the two lean skinny guys had opened his mouth and he was surprisingly well spoken. His hair was a short curly mop of a mess on the top of his head and his eyes were like two black beads.

"So So Sorry Rax but I don't have all the money to give to you right now"

"No problem Harley, maybe we can find some other way for you to make up the extras? Perhaps this lady here could be of service to me and my boys?"

Rax was now turning his attentions to Riley. He had the biggest smile on his face as he licked his lips which did nothing to improve the blackness of his teeth or the dryness of his mouth. Harley looked terrified now as he stared at Riley.

"Th-tha-that won't be necessary Rax I just have to get the money together from today's takings it's no problem really"

"I still want extras Harley and I think this lady here is the one to give it to me!"

Now that Rax was breathing quite heavily in her face she was sure the stench alone could melt through metal given enough time. Riley looked up and across at Harley and sighed as she smiled.

"Some things never change do they Harley?

"Ri . . . . . Riley please you don't have to do anything"

"It will be just fine Harley"

Though she knew that Harley knew very well that she would not be doing anything these boys might be dreaming about. She turned and looked directly at Rax now and smiled.

"What exactly did you and your boys have in mind Mr. Rax?"

Rax chuckled and his men did too. He scratched his stubbly bearded chin; as he could not believe his luck right now. Why in the hell had Drake sent him to have such fun? Was this payment for doing such a great job lately? He wondered. Placing his hand upon her shoulder he leaned in to whisper his fantasy to her.

That was all the movement she needed. Riley swiftly grabbed Rax's hand and before he realised what was happening she had broken his arm like a twig. Rax was screaming in agony now as tears welled up in his eyes. He moved back to a safe distance as he screamed at the other men to kill the bitch. The other lean guy came at her with a blade to her chest, she quickly spun round and kicked the blade out of his hand and sent him flying with a side snap kick. Both the big hulking giants came at her; they were double-teaming on her as they tried to trap her in between their colossal bodies. Riley quickly back flipped out of the way and removed her cloak to reveal her curvaceous muscular form.

Riddick was paying full attention to this woman now. Her style was amazing and her body wasn't too bad either, he liked her appearance as a slight smile crossed his lips. He had no particular interest in helping her as her conflict had nothing to do with him. _This shit is not my fucking problem_ he thought. Although now he was starting to wonder how she was going to handle these muscle bound brainless giants. Would be a shame for her to die…

Just then something strange was happening to Riley her eyes glowed yellow as she ran head on in to one of the giants and punched him right out of the bar through a wall. She then stood back in a fighting stance her right hand out in front palm up giving the come on to Rax and his other giant comrade.

"Who's next?"

The other giant ran out and Rax was left standing by himself holding his poor broken arm. He was shaking like a leaf with tears in his eyes. He tried to act tough.

"You Fucking Bitch!! Who the hell are you??"

"Are we not having any fun yet Rax? "She grinned slyly at Rax with a twinkle in her eye.

He looked at Riley in disgust as she walked up to him now.

"This bar is under my protection now and don't you ever forget it! No more fucking payments for you Rax baby! Is that understood?"

Riley smiled as she pinched his cheek. Rax pissed himself and ran out of the bar like a cat with its tail between its legs. She walked over and picked up her cloak, and glanced in Riddick's direction she had noticed that he had been paying attention during the fight and not made a move to help. Not that she needed his help. But she figured he must have something to hide. Harley came over laughing and smiling as he hugged her.

"My dear girl you really didn't have to do that . . . . As much as it made me happy to see you kick those guys out on their arses!!"

"Sorry Harley, those guys didn't deserve your money or my time, not that I would have given those sleazy bastards anything anyways"

"It's just that you won't always be here to stop them Riley, and they will be back even when you are gone from here… What am I supposed to do then?"

Riley realised that in helping her friend she may have doomed him as well. She wouldn't always be here to watch his back. Spinning to look in the direction of the bald guy with the dark goggles on now she had an idea.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Drake had been watching the evening's events in the bar from the warehouse across the street thoroughly entertained. Rax then burst in wincing in agony from the broken arm Riley had just given him. His arm had the broken half of his ulna bone protruding out from his skin with blood making it look like his bone had exploded; the pain was almost too much for him to bear. Drake turned round to look at Rax in his pitiful state.

"I'm disappointed Rax, you couldn't handle one fucking woman?"

He raised his eyebrow now and laughed. Rax looked back at him dumb founded, _did he know that this would happen? The fucking bastard_ he thought.

"You and your boys did a good job Rax. I got the info I wanted on the woman, and she is indeed a concern for us. Go see a doctor and get yourself cleaned up would you? You are a total mess right now and I still have plenty of uses for you"

Rax hurriedly picked himself up and left for the medical centre. Drake went back to his spying on Riley. She was a very engaging woman, such a shame that she had to die. He noticed that Riley was walking towards some guy sitting at a table in the far corner, as he narrowed the vision of his optical lenses to get a better look at the guy he almost fell off his seat. It can't be him . . . Can it? He thought. But there was no mistaking the baldhead, black goggles, and strong muscular physique. His mind flashed back to a few years ago when he worked as a head guard at the SLAM in Butcher Bay. He remembered one particular prisoner the guards had a lot of problems trying to break him down through all manner of torture as punishment for not doing their bidding. He had killed guards who had got in his way using any object he could find to hand and was considered extremely dangerous. It had been during this mans escape that Drake had come face to face with him and nearly died from the encounter and he had never forgotten the name of the man. "Riddick" he mumbled to himself.

"Hey baldy!"

"Yea . . . . You there . . . . With the goggles on!"

Riley shouted across the room as she approached Riddick. _Fucking Bitch who the fuck does she think she is talking to?_ He thought. Looking in her direction he said nothing. Still he had his right hand under the table with his shiv in place he waited to see what she wanted.

"You are new in town . . . . Aren't you? Would you like a job?"

Riddick looked at Riley calmly now and realised she wasn't meaning to be rude to him. He looked her body up and down as he took in her full appearance. It had been a long time since he had seen such a beautiful voluptuous woman before him. The black top she was wearing with the right sleeve long and the left side short revealed her taut toned bicep. Her breasts were full, round and very ample. Due to her chest her top was elevated enough for Riddick to see that she had taut abs as well. This woman was a no nonsense person in good shape and ready for action. Calmly he responded to her.

"Yes I am . . . . And yes I would, what are you offering?"

The sound of his deep husky voice sent tingles down her spine. Riley edged closer to him as she spoke. She couldn't tell what this man was thinking his lack of body movements and the fact that his goggles covered his eyes made it impossible to guess how he saw her. Everything about him so far was a mystery to her and she was intrigued.

"I need someone who can handle themselves . . . . To look after my friend Harley over there, in case those guys I just kicked out of here come back"

Riddick thought I would rather look after you and your body baby... it would be so much more fun he smiled a sly smile.

"How much would you be willing to pay?" his eyebrow rose curiously.

"Depends how well you do in your physical interview doesn't it"

Riley smiled back as she then lashed out at great speed with a side snap kick to Riddick's head. Riddick pushed himself back from the table and her kick missed him by a few inches. Thankfully most of the people in the bar had run out after her fight with Rax and his gang so there was plenty of room for them both to manoeuvre.

"You're fast . . . . That's good . . . I'm just warming up" she said with a smile.

His shiv at the ready, Riddick decided to play along. He loosened his neck by rotating it and his shoulders, his bones clicked as he did so. Thus taking up his fighting stance ready to take Riley down anyway he had to. Riley began to check out Riddick's form; now that he was standing she could see that he was about 6"1" at least and in extremely good shape. The black vest he was wearing showed off all his muscular glory to perfection she thought. How secure she would feel to be embraced in those arms right now. She snapped back out of her fantasy just as Riddick came at her with his shiv to her stomach. She blocked it with her left arm and attacked with her right fist to his face. Riddick blocked her punch as he grabbed her arm. Riley sidestepped him and flung him into some tables. She was strong he thought but not strong enough. Riddick took his time to get up off the ground and waited for her approach. Her legs were within his reach now as he swept her legs and knocked her to the ground on her back. He moved fast now like lightening as he placed the shiv at her throat and twisted one of her arms above her head. On top of her now he leaned in and whispered in her ear.

"Did I pass your little interview baby?"

The feel of his warm breath on her neck was extremely arousing not to mention the fact that he was on top of her and his chest was against hers. She closed her eyes to try to maintain her focus. But then she inhaled his musky, sweaty scent and almost could not contain herself. By choice she hadn't been with any man in a while as the last guy had been none too approving of the fact that her position was higher than his within the Galactic Forces and moving higher. Regardless of that she had always felt deep down that he hadn't been good enough for her. Like she was settling for second best and that there was someone else somewhere out there in this crazy fucked up universe who was her kindred spirit, her soul mate. Back to reality now she thought she hated the fact that he had called her baby now. She had to restrain herself from just flinging him off using her telekinesis if only to see what he would do next. But what the hell he was good she would allow him for the moment, she liked his style.

"I guess you did Mr. Baldy"

She whispered back to him cheekily. Riddick was taking in the fragrance of coconuts from her hair. His mind drifted as his primal instincts kicked in. Her closeness to him was driving him crazy now as he almost bit her on the ear and licked her neck just to taste her. _God_ he thought _now is not the time for this shit!_ He quickly gathered himself as he slowly eased up off Riley's body and helped her up.

"But then again maybe . . . . . I let you pass" she said with a grin.

"Let me pass . . . . . Pardon me but I don't think your heart was in it baby? Why don't you show me what you can really do? Unless . . . . . Perhaps you're afraid?"

Riley looked curiously at Riddick was this guy for real. She hadn't wanted to cause him any permanent damage as he was after all going to be looking after her friend. But if he wants to go for it what the fuck lets do it, even if he is kind of cute.

"Ok . . . . . . I show you and you show me" she raised a curious eyebrow and looked at him.

Riddick couldn't help but like this woman's attitude as he thought I'm still going to have to kick her ass though just for calling me Mr. Baldy. He smirked to himself.

"Let's play" he growled with a grin.

In the warehouse across the street Drake was watching the whole show. All his observations were being recorded just before his power supply ran out. _Shit_ he thought _I'll just have to watch and relay the rest of the details to Gabriel._

Harley was now hiding behind the counter and watching the showdown between the tall dark stranger and Riley. As much as he was glad to have Riley around he had forgotten just how wild things were around her as he hoped to god that they didn't destroy his whole bar.

"Don't worry Harley this will all be over before you know it!"

Riley shouted to her concerned friend before she focused her attention back to Riddick. She made a few motions in the air with her arms before taking up her fighting stance, her eyes glowed and a crackle of energy seemed to surround her body. _This guy wants to play so let's play_ she thought.

Staring at Riley now, Riddick had sensed the intense power of electricity in the air that was now coming from her direction. The hair on his arms was tingling and standing up on end. Instinctively he grabbed a chair and hurled it directly at her and dived for cover he needed to see what he was up against now.

Riley extended a hand and aimed it at the chair coming towards her. She could have pulled it apart with just a thought but instead she chose to fire it back the way it had come as it crashed in to a wall and smashed to pieces. Observing the action Riddick realised she was a telekinetic now; and still he knew that he could get to her. He quickly looked around for the main power supply to the room and found it on the wall behind the main counter. Tossing his shiv accurately in to the power supply box he waited for the darkness to come. The power was cut and everything went black. He only had a few moments before any kind of back up supply kicked in.

Removing his goggles he raced over to where Riley stood, his vision unimpaired by the darkness now. He grabbed her from behind in a bear hug with one arm around her neck and the other twisting one of her arms behind her back. Riley not at all unnerved by the darkness she used her telekinesis to make them both hover 3 metres off of the ground. Riddick was slightly taken by surprise by this manoeuvre but just gripped her more tightly. She was starting to choke slightly; no way in hell was he going to beat her like this. Thinking hard she focused her telekinesis to fling them both in the direction where she knew Riddick's back would hit the wall. When it finally connected she felt the impact slightly as she let them both drop to the ground. The back up lights then came on and Riddick quickly moved to put his goggles back on as the bright lights made him effectively blind. This was the downside of having the shine job done to your eyes vulnerability to bright light.

Harley then came running over to stand in between the two stubborn fighters.

"Whoa . . . . Ok . . . . Now you two can stop. Mister you got the job! I don't want anymore damage to my place Riley!"

Still clutching her throat and catching her breath Riley stood up, _boy has that guy got a strong grip?_ She looked around at the slight amount of damage she had caused. _Shit_ she thought _I've only been here 5 minutes, I guess some things really don't change after all._

"I'm sorry Harley . . . . Me and . . . . Woshisname will clean up . . . . Sorry I don't even know your name? And I'm guessing you don't like me calling you Mr. Baldy?"

She looked in the Strangers direction as he stood up. He was now stretching out it would appear she had made him feel some pain after all, as she smiled a sly smile to herself.

"Johns . . . . William Johns"

He figured it best to stick to his fake details for the moment. Since he didn't trust anyone and she appeared to trust him for the moment and that was enough for now.

"I'm Riley Sinclair but you can just call me Riley, what would be enough payment for you to look after my friend?"

"Actually a ship would be enough or a ride in one, I'm just passing through Sororian"

Riley studied Riddick closely she wasn't sure how to take what he had just asked, though she figured if he was a real nutcase she would more than likely be badly wounded or worse dead by now.

"I do have a ship, you can have it if I die but if I live I'll drop you where ever you need to go"

Still dusting his hands off Riddick was slightly taken a back by her response, why would she be expecting to die? He quickly let the thought go her fucking problems were not his to take on. All he had to worry about was her ship and getting off this planet to peace on Planet 6 in the UV System.

"I'm only planning on being here a few days, a week at the most but I accept your offer"

"Good that's settled, free food and boarding will also be included. Harley do you still have the package?"

Harley rushed over to the counter where he had left the package to find that it had unfortunately been damaged. He picked up the pieces and took them to Riley.

"I'm sorry dear; looks like it got smashed during the fight"

Riley looked dismayed now, her only link to saving Jason was broken. She smashed her hand in to the nearest wall with almost the full force of her telekinesis behind it. Knowing full well that she needed to keep her emotions in check or her telekinesis would go out of control. Calming herself she then wondered if she might be able to fix it enough so that she could still use it to help her. Although she wasn't much of a tech wiz that was always Jason's forte she figured she could find someone who was. Taking the broken package from Harley she slumped down at a table.

Riddick stood straight trying to deny to himself how much that knock against the wall had really hurt him and his macho pride. He definitely didn't want to be doing that again unless it involved something of a sexual nature of course. After all he was a man that liked that sort of thing rough and wild. Looking over at Riley after she had hit the wall he observed how angry she was, he thought about enquiring what was wrong. For some strange reason he actually found himself liking this woman in some small strange way that even he could not understand yet. But he thought better of it for now.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

That same night, after watching all the action at the bar, Drake had taken himself back to Gabriel to relay all his findings. He found Gabriel down in the lower basement level he was making the final touches to his re-programming of Jason Munroe. Gabriel was always a perfectionist with his work even more so with his torturous ones. He knew this first hand from having been on Gabriel's operating table himself. The man had made him no longer human but he had saved his life. In acceptance for what Gabriel had done for him Drake had chosen to stay by his side and work for him. Drake now approached him cautiously although he and Gabriel had a somewhat good working relationship he had seen the man shoot dead lesser individuals for interrupting him while he was full flow in his experiments.

"Gabriel I have some good news about that Sinclair woman along with a way that we may be able to get rid of her"

Luckily for Drake, Gabriel was in a surprisingly good mood as he swivelled around in his chair and observed his right hand man closely.

"So what were your findings?

"Well it would appear that Ms. Sinclair is a telekinetic, she beat my boys up with ease!"

"Really . . . . . I have always been intrigued by the powers of the mind . . . . . What else did you find out?"

Drake took out his equipment and showed Gabriel the scans that he had been able to get.

"Here as you can see she got in to a fight with a man who may be our ticket to getting rid of her."

Gabriel studied the image of the bald man with dark black goggles.

"Hmmm . . . . . Who is that? Another one of your so called soldiers who couldn't even handle a woman"

"The man you are looking at is Richard B. Riddick he is an escaped convict, a murderer even, extremely dangerous…. And the fight between them ended in a stalemate"

Gabriel was now way more intrigued than he had ever thought possible, but he had already decided that he did not want to kill the woman yet. He would like to study her, more importantly he would like to study her brain she had a priceless gift that if he could replicate he would be able to sell. Failing that he would just make her his personal mind controlled slave and bodyguard.

"Do we need to bring this Mr. Riddick in for programming? Or will he do what you tell him too?" Gabriel said while looking at Drake sternly.

"I believe that I can make him an offer that he wouldn't dare refuse to help us bring Sinclair here incapacitated. After he has done the job I will deal with him"

Drake smiled revealing two metal front teeth in his mouth. To which Gabriel turned back to his work. He did like the work he had done on Drake just not shone directly in his face.

"Then do it I want Sinclair here for experimentation ASAP" Gabriel smiled as he worked as he thought about the wicked pleasures he would have with Riley on his operating table.

Back at the bar it was all very quiet now. Harley had closed the place for the night, he figured he'd had enough action for one day and wanted to rest for the following days events. Which he funnily enough knew would be many with Riley back in town, he thought as he smiled to himself. He had set up a room up stairs for both his new protector and Riley to share; it had been Riley's decision to share with Johns so she could keep a close eye on him. The room had two beds and was adequate enough for short-term living purposes. Upstairs in the room both Riley and Riddick had taken their pick of the two beds available, which were on opposite sides of the room. There was an old deep red mat in the centre of the room between the beds, a window in the back that was smudged with dirt and not much else for decoration. With a light that was slightly dim in the room. Riley sat on her bed while Riddick lay flat out on his back with one arm supporting his head on a pillow. She had brought up the damaged package with her and although she was silent he could see plainly that she was more than a little frustrated. He didn't want to get involved but he was fucking curious, he had already figured out that she worked for some Specialist forces group possibly on covert ops. From her demeanour and character so far he had felt that she was one of the few that you would call "good people". She had acted nothing like any of the so-called scumbag mercs he had faced. Turning over on to his side now he then dared to question her he needed facts.

"So . . . . . Riley what is a woman like you doing here on Sororian, cos I don't believe for a minute that you are here just sightseeing?"

Looking up Riley stared back at Riddick as the sound of his low growling voice made a strange feeling come over her. She moved the package to the end of her bed and pulled her legs up on to the bed and crossed them. Her intuition was her guide mostly where people were concerned. Right now she felt she could open up to this man a little and maybe get something back from him, he seemed to be ok? But then she had had a lot of people in her life before who had been just ok? Only to have them knife her in the back so to speak leading to some people dying well before their time through foolishness by her hand.

"You are quite observant aren't you Mr. Johns?"

"I just tell it like I see it"

"I came here to help my best friend out of some trouble he has gotten in to"

"Oh . . . . . So you came just to help sort those men out for Harley? Cos I would have to say that was fun to watch!"

Riddick knew very well that Harley was not the friend that she was talking about. But he wanted to see if he could push her buttons and get her to open up more so that he could see what she was really about.

Riley smiled and relaxed a little she knew the game that he was playing she had played it often enough herself. Simply to gather information on people she had been recruited to find on missions.

"Yea that was funny . . . . . But no helping Harley out was a bonus for me just being in the right place at the right time" More importantly she felt that someone had sent those men to purposely cause trouble for her to deal with.

"My best friend Jay, he left a message for me in that broken comms package that I have been mulling over explaining what was wrong, Once I get the damn thing fixed it I should be able to find him and help him if he is not already dead"

He took note of how calm and placid she was after she had made her explanation. Her tone detailing that anyone who got in her way would more than likely end up a dead man?

"Ok one more thing I have to ask . . . . I noticed that you have an interesting gift? I've only ever crossed paths with someone like you before once many years ago"

"Yea I've always had it for as long as I can remember . . . . Not sure weather to call it a gift or a curse really? Most people see me as a freak because of it but I don't care about them"

Riddick was actually becoming more and more intrigued with Riley. She wasn't anything like he had suspected she might be but still given time all her chat could be actual bullshit. Actions spoke louder than words and so far her actions had not yet come close to causing him any deathly harm.

"What about you Johns why are you here or should I say just passing through?"

"I'm a Merc on my way to my next job"

She hadn't expected him to say that he was merc of all things. They were the scum of the earth as far as she was concerned. Most of the ones that she had been unfortunate enough to cross paths with had ended up dead by her hand they would try to kill any innocent people just to catch their so called criminal and she had had to step in just to save lives mostly at the risk of her own.

"I'm not too fond of mercs so I guess I'll just have to see which kind of merc you are . . . . The good if there is such a thing or the really bad kind?"

Without another word or a warning Riley got up and jumped into bed and turned her body to face the wall leaving her back to Riddick. How could she have made such a mistake about this guy? Why did he have to be a fucking merc? Riddick slowly turned to lie on his back with both his hands behind his head and crossed his legs. I guess she likes me he thought as he smiled to himself. The lights then went completely black as he thought _yep just the way I like it_.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Sitting across the street in the warehouse opposite the Zatland Bar Drake had started to get accustomed to his new second home away from home. He had been watching Riddick all night waiting for the chance when he could catch him alone and blackmail him in to doing some dirty work for him. Both Riddick and Riley had been a sleep most of the night and it was now getting close to sunrise. Wanting to sleep desperately he was struggling to stay awake, but he knew that if he failed on this Gabriel would show him no mercy.

Riddick woke with a jolt; his goggles were still on his head firmly in place over his eyes as always, he hadn't relaxed like that in a while. Looking across at Riley he could see that she was still asleep. She had turned to face him now in her bed and her face looked so peaceful, and he could only just hear her breathing now. Swinging his legs off the bed silently like a cat he stood up and stretched. Looking over at Riley again for a split second he almost wanted to stroke her face but he thought better of it. _Shit_ he thought _I got to focus I need to check out the area, know my playing field_. He sighed as he sneaked out of the room down the stairs and across the bar to the back door he had noticed the night before.

Drake jumped up his eyelids had become painfully heavy now, as he tried to shake it off. He started to walk around he needed to be alert now and it seemed to work. As he looked back at the bar he noticed Riddick was no longer in his bed Fuck! Where did he go? Looking all around the bar frantically he finally found him outside round the back door he had snuck in to the alleyway. _Thank god for small mercies_ he thought. _This was his chance to do the deal!_

Moving cautiously through the back streets of Sororian City Riddick felt calm, there were not many obstructions in his path. Climbing the walls and fences were no problem for him and scoping out the other buildings was easy in this part of the city. It was still very early and pretty quiet; there were no people about to disturb him? His animal awareness kicked in as he had the strange feeling that someone was following him. _The mercs couldn't have found his trail here already? Could they?_ He doubled back on his path as he hid behind a fence and lay in wait in its shadows.

Calling in two of his well-trained bodyguards to follow him Drake continued on his path following Riddick. He knew he had to be careful Riddick was no idiot. He sent one of his men ahead and the other to come from the other direction ahead of where Riddick might be going. This was all in the hopes that he might be able to get the upper hand on him.

As the guy stepped over the fence Riddick pounced on him with his shiv at the ready to cut the man's throat. He braced the man against the wall. _This man did not look like a merc so why the fuck was he following him_ he wondered.

"Who the fuck are you?"

"My . . . B . . . B . . . Boss wants to talk to you"

Not at all impressed by what this guy had said so far Riddick tightened his grip.

"Who is your boss? And what does he want with me?" he growled

"Drake . . . . . That's all that I know . . . . Honest"

"Where can I find this . . . Drake?"

"He's coming to find you now"

"Oh Really I guess I should be honoured but I'm not"

Riddick wondered if this guy Drake knew who he really was anything was possible. He knocked the guy out and waited for Drake to arrive. Five minutes later two more guys arrived to find Riddick laying in wait for them tossing his shiv up and down in his hand and catching it by the handle each time. He felt that he had seen the man who he believed to be Drake somewhere before.

"I do believe that I am in great demand by you Mr Drake, now why would that be?"

Riddick raised a curious eyebrow as he spoke still with his back leaned against the wall and the goggles covering his eyes. Drake froze not sure what to make of this situation but he remained calm he guessed that Riddick obviously wanted to hear what this was about otherwise he would have tried to kill him by now.

"Just Drake actually"

"You still haven't answered my question" Riddick said in a stern tone with a serious look on his face.

"I have a business proposition for you Mr. Riddick"

_So he does know who I am, but why do I feel that I know this guy from some place. If he knows who I am I__'m guessing that this will probably involve me getting rid of someone for him cos if he wanted to send me back to SLAM I'm guessing the handcuffs would be on me by now._ He frowned.

"And what kind of business would that be?"

"Well my employer Gabriel Chambers a scientist and business man would like you to bring him a woman for experimentation"

Riddick laughed out loud a big bellow of laughter; he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He knew there was something more to it but he decided to play along with Drake.

"I have heard some crazy stuff in my time but I have never been asked to be a pimp for no man!"

"No, No Mr Riddick, the woman in this case is a rarity; she has a special gift that Mr Chambers would like to . . . procure"

Hearing the word gift he stopped smirking now. He can't mean Riley could he? Riddick began to feel that God must be laughing at him somewhere some place right now the bloody fucker was laughing! Staying calm and focused he responded to Drake.

"Who is this woman?"

"You already know her, Ms. Sinclair the woman with whom you fought with last night"

_Fucking hell_ he thought _no way am I doing this for this guy and where the fuck do I know him from?_

"Do I know you?!" Riddick said his curiosity needed to be satisfied.

Drake had been waiting for this moment for a long time a chance to face this man, a man who had helped to toughen him up in so many ways. After surviving his encounter with Riddick at Butcher Bay he had taken the chance to reinforce himself, make himself a better fighter with Gabriel's help. He had to be the best cos if he ever faced Riddick again he would be ready to kill him and not be the victim again. Now he was an extremely tougher man than he had ever been before. Drake had even sacrificed his humanity just to gain that extra advantage. He calmed himself; his moment had finally arrived as he chose to reveal all.

"I crossed your path once before when you were in the SLAM at Butcher Bay" he said with a sly smirk across his face now.

Riddick held up his shiv and pointed it at Drake; it all came back to him. He had stabbed the guy, _thought I killed him, won't make the same mistake again though_ he thought.

""Yea I stabbed you to death"

"Almost but not quite you just made me stronger"

_This day just gets fucking better and better_ Riddick thought_ I should have stayed in bed just an hour longer maybe Riley is still looking fine in bed. I'm just going to have to let this Joker down easy. I don't work for nobody under duress fuck that shit!_

"You do know I'm not going to accept your business deal, right . . . I'm just not in to Slam reunions"

He had made the offer and now Riddick wasn't going to play, he had just thrown it in his face. Already knowing that Riddick wasn't the type of guy to just do whatever someone asked of him. This was of course one of the reasons why Riddick was on the run in the first place. Still he felt that he had a way to guarantee Riddick would take the job he made his case.

"I could just alert some mercs to your presence here, or better still I could kick your ass and have my Boss reprogram you if I don't kill you first of course. It's a torturous procedure where he erases all your memories and destroys everything that makes you who you are. Effectively you would be brain dead. Maybe I'll get him to make you my boot licker?" Drakes eyes widened in delight at the thought.

Sneering at Riddick now who was getting angry he needed to get control of this whole thing back. He needed to get off this planet sooner than he had planned. _Should have made sure I killed this ass hole when I had the fucking chance!_ He thought. _Why the hell did he even care what happened to Riley? The only person I should be worrying about is me and that's it! It's a tough old world and she can take care of herself._

Back at the bar Riley was slowly waking up she sat up and stretched she hadn't expected to sleep for so long. Guess I was more tired than I realised. She looked across and noticed that Johns was not in his bed. Part of her was kind of sad he wasn't still there but then she thought; why do I even care he is a merc after all. She freshened up and got dressed in black cargo pants that sat firmly on her hips with a dark olive green vest top that left her belly button fully exposed. After tying her shoulder length hair back from her face she threw her hooded cloak on over her golden-bronzed shoulders and went out to find a tech wiz to help fix the comms device.

She walked down the street towards where the spaceport was. Near where all the ships were parked, she remembered seeing a tech shop when she had arrived on the planet the day before. The windows were dirty and full of junk and spare parts, the sign on the door said the place was open so she tried the handle and proceeded to enter. There was nobody at the main counter and the lights were all very dimly lit.

"Hello is anybody here?"

She called out but no one answered then she heard some banging and moaning noises coming from the back of the shop. Moving through all the spare parts that were scattered everywhere she eventually reached the back of the store there was a back room there. After knocking on the door she entered, the sight before her was not at all what she had expected to see. Leaning against the door panel she crossed her arms and laughed. There was a guy who she guessed was the owner and he had strapped himself in to some kind of chair and attached electronic shock sensors to various parts of his anatomy. This included his manhood for him to experience certain shock sensations while he watched pornography on a monitor.

"Am I interrupting you? Are you on a break or something?"

Riley said while trying to keep as straight a face as possible. The guy looked round and jumped in disbelief at being caught. He quickly stood up and tried to detach what connections he could as quickly as possible while trying not to scream in agony as each one came off and pulled some of his body hair with it.

"Arrgh . . . Ummm . . . . Yea I'll be right with you madam" as he winced in pain.

Turning her back to him Riley moved back out to the main store she figured the poor guy had suffered enough as she giggled to herself. The owner came out dressed in a dark brown robe and looking slightly dishevelled. He had some of his black short hair sticking up at various angles over his head.

"I'm sorry about that . . . What you saw . . . . Umm anyway how can I be of help to you?"

"It's no problem really, I've seen worse honest. I just need some help to fix this"

She took the bag from her shoulder and revealed its contents to him. He looked at the various parts and examined them closely.

"I think I can, not sure if all the parts of your message will come through though?"

"That will be fine what ever you can do, will be just fine"

Happy now that she would shortly be able to find Jay, they sorted out the payment arrangements which weren't very much to Riley's surprise. She figured that it was due to his embarrassment at being caught in the act. All that was left on her mind for the moment was Johns she needed to know more about him as she knew he wouldn't tell her a thing. She had an idea and she had connections with the highest kind of access to files that would provide all the info that she needed, but she needed an encrypted link to access them.

"Hey do you by any chance have an encrypted comms link that I could use?"

The man looked back at her and smiled a tiny smile. He took one of her hands and led her through to the back room. Taking her towards the darkest corner of the room where there was absolutely nothing set up what so ever. Grabbing her hand back from the grasp of the man she turned to him.

"What the hell are you playing at!? I don't play that way with just anyone wiz kid!"

"No . . . No . . . That's not why I brought you here"

Slightly embarrassed now, she calmed herself. He reached for a panel on the wall and pushed it. The side wall slid away to reveal a passage to another room. They both stepped through and there was the comms link unit she had been looking to see.

"I am . . . . So sorry for being rude to you"

"It's no problem madam, just please don't tell anyone about what you saw me doing and we're quits"

"Your secret….. Is safe with me I promise and thank you"

She smiled a big smile at the owner as he had just now totally made her day. The owner left her alone to do her work as he went to fix her comms package.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The silence in the alleyway had lasted at least five minutes and yet seemed more like a lifetime to Drake. He was waiting for Riddick to agree to his deal. Standing a few feet from Drake, Riddick stood still with no emotion on his face. The only thing moving about him was the shiv he kept flipping it over with his right hand and catching it again. Drake's comms link started beeping; he stepped back from the alley to gain a little privacy. He looked down at it and noted it was Gabriel calling for him.

"Drake have you got her yet?"

"No Gabe, not just yet . . . . We have a slight problem, Riddick has not co-operated as I had hoped he would"

"Damn it Drake! I want this shit resolved ASAP! If you cannot have the woman brought to me alive, kill her and bring her dead corpse and that of this Riddick too! If he does not want to work for us then kill him! I can still work from samples of their DNA in my future experimentations"

Having heard every single word Riddick now took action. He pounced on the single hulking giant of a guy that Drake had come with and cut the guy's throat in one swift move. Before the guy even realised what was happening his life was over. Drake seeing this quickly pulled out a gun from its resting place strapped to his back under his jacket. He started shooting at Riddick, bursts of energy flew towards him; He only just managed to dive for cover behind a half broken wall which wouldn't hold up for too long. Deciding to break for it he ran and dived over the high fence closest to him. He decided that he would catch Drake another time for now he just needed to escape and find some peace. As he ran his thoughts drifted on Riley and how he could just take her ship and leave her behind to her fate. The thought nagged at him and he couldn't understand why he gave a damn about what happened to her.

Drake had made some calls he needed to ensure that Sinclair and Riddick were dead without further delay. He was now determined more than ever that no one was going to get in his way.

Riley had managed to contact one of her hacker friends back on Dorma 2. They had given her access to all the files on Gabriel Chambers and his business dealings. Along with all the merc data files detailing their last jobs and whereabouts etc.

She quickly skimmed all the data on Gabriel, her instincts about him had been correct he was a slimy sleaze bag and so much more. The records dated back covering the last 150 years. Riley was shocked by the amount of years that he had supposedly been around as the pictures confirmed that he was indeed the same man from all those years ago. She wondered how that was even possible. Could he be a clone? An android maybe she wondered. Reading further she found that Gabriel had indeed been a very busy man, he was well known with all the High-class business societies as they had been giving him money for so called "special" jobs. Looking through this section sickened her as it involved child sex slavery, adult prostitution, and experimentation on unwilling participants. The Owner had managed to fix what he could of the comms device and he had now hooked it up for Riley to see what Jay had to say. There were many files that covered even further in graphic detail what Gabriel Chambers had been doing but most importantly the details covered his experimentation with the re-programming of people. It even included the failures where he had melted the sides of people's heads, or their eye balls causing many disfigurations and deaths. There was a message from Jay at the end of the list and the visual wasn't too clear.

"Sin . . . . Yea I know you like to be called Riley these days but you will always be Sin to me . . . . If you have this and you haven't seen me in person then I guess I've been re-programmed by Gabriel. But don't worry about me I may be able to work around that somehow. I need you to bring down his empire before he finds out who you are and why you are here. He will use you to further his own cause and experiments especially with your gifts! I'm sorry Sin . . . . That I messed up and got myself involved with this bastard it was my technology that helped him to be able to control people and turn them in to mindless slaves . . . . I found out too late what Gabriel really is. . . So whatever happens to me it's the fate that I deserve and I can accept that. Love you forever and always my friend"

Riley sat back in shock by what Jay had just said. She had seen a lot of bad things in her time and brought down some unscrupulous evil bastards too. But she never expected that one would be so close to home. Knowing that she might already be too late to save Jay was almost too much for her to take. He had been like a brother to her. They had been through so much and he was the one person that she knew she could count on and trust with her life. She decided right then and there that Jay's death would not be in vain she would destroy Gabriel and his empire. She sighed and breathed deeply she had to keep focused as she felt the air around grow slightly electrified, she had to keep her emotions under control. As she meditated and focused her mind while breathing in some deep breaths the electricity in the air slowly dissipated.

Looking back at the other monitor she remembered that she needed to look up details on Mr Johns. She started a search parameter to look for information related to William Johns a few details came up. The records described him as blond with blue eyes. She tried to picture him without the goggles on and with some blond hair it didn't seem to fit somehow. There was a file that detailed his last job. He was hunting an escaped convict, a murderer who was extremely dangerous. Intriguing she thought this guy loves to go after real mean tough guys. She found the convicts name Richard B. Riddick, and read his file which was pretty detailed he had stayed in quite a few Slams and escaped each one, Slippery fucker she thought. There was a description and also a picture that she could download which she did, while she waited she read his appearance details. 6"1" muscular build, bald and wears goggles due to the shine job he has had done on his eyes; A procedure that very few people ever recover their eyesight from. While she read this Riley couldn't believe what she had read. The picture finished downloading and there in all his glory was Riddick. This can't be right because if this was true then the man she fought with and left to protect Harley is a murderer? But if he was a murderer why hadn't he just simply killed her? She was more confused now than ever; she needed to confront him and hear it what he had to say if he didn't try to kill her first.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Walking through the unlocked doors of the Zatland Bar Riddick instinctively felt that there was something wrong. It was coming close to midday and there was no sign of Harley getting the bar ready. He raised an eyebrow as he looked around curiously.

"Harley!" he called out but there was no answer.

It was then that he caught a familiar scent of blood, human blood and it was emanating from behind the bar counter. He went to take a look, though he already knew what he was going to find. There lying dead slumped on the floor was Harley. The old mans throat had been cut and his body had been mutilated, his hands had been hacked away and his eyes had been gouged out. Poor bastard Riddick thought he wasn't exactly doing a great job as protector on his first day. Harley didn't deserve to die like that he thought. He then began to wonder if Riley had been killed as well. Pulling his shiv from its hiding place he stood up ready to go check out the upstairs rooms. The door behind him opened now and there in the doorway stood a cloaked Riley. Her cloak flapped about her slightly as the door closed. She stared at Riddick and realised that he had just been looking down at something. Walking to where he stood she caught the scent of blood and she prayed in her heart that it wasn't Harley, but she knew that it was. Seeing his cruelly butchered body lying there on the floor dead made her wonder if the same thing had happened to Jay. But then she turned to Riddick, how could she know that he had not done this?

"I'm sorry about your friend"

Riddick spoke calmly to Riley. He meant it more than she realised he hated to see innocent people killed like that. It was a sight that he had seen too many times in his life and one that he figured would never stop happening.

"Sorry? . . . . All I want to hear from you is did you kill him?!" she said her stare going straight through him now.

Looking back at her now he wondered why she would think that he had killed Harley. His face took on a confused look and Riley was not sure what to make of it. _Was he playing games with her, trying to make a fool out of her before he finished her off?_

"I know your real name is Richard B. Riddick . . . And I came back here to talk with you about it I was prepared to let your past stay in the past as you hadn't done me any harm . . . So I ask again did you kill Harley?!"

This was not the way he had wanted this to happen. The light in the room was still dim and the windows were blacked out, the light was low enough he thought as he removed his goggles and looked directly at Riley now.

"I didn't kill Harley, but I know who did as they are after both of us now."

His eyes were amazing to Riley and she could sense his sincerity. He had allowed her to see him like this, no more mystery, she hadn't expected that.

"It was Gabriel Chambers wasn't it?!" Riddick nodded in reply to her question.

"Harley didn't deserve to die like that Riddick!"

"We have to get out of here now, while we have the chance!" His sincere look became all too serious.

"I can't leave now; I have to put a stop to Gabriel so he cannot hurt anyone else like Harley or Jay ever again! You can take my ship and go hide yourself away!"

Having no reason to stay Riddick felt inclined to accept what Riley had said and take her ship. But before he had accepted what he had proposed to do a mechanical device opened up in the middle of the room to reveal a monitor. A hologram of a man with long dark hair appeared all smartly dressed before them.

"Gabriel . . ." Riley whispered under her breath.

Riddick looked and listened wanting to hear what this so called dick head had to say.

"Well hello Mr. Riddick and Ms. Sinclair, I must say . . . . What an annoying pair of people you are. You do interrupt my business operations and you won't work with me when I make the simplest of requests, you do so . . . Disappoint me. I had such high warm and . . . . Oh so sexy hopes for you especially Ms. Sinclair . . . , But alas . . . I do so hate to be kept waiting! There is a bomb in the room with you set to explode and kill you both in say . . . Hmmm the next 10 seconds so goodbye"

The hologram blinked out and in its place now another hologram appeared showing a timer counting down from 10. Putting his goggles back on Riddick grabbed Riley to run just as the timer now showed 8 seconds. She pulled Riddick back.

"There is no time to get out and I can stop this or at least protect us!"

Perplexed Riddick didn't say a word he followed Riley. He had no reason not to trust her though he doubted he was doing the right thing. She told him to stay behind her and not to move no matter what. Riddick for the first time in a long time did as he was told as he held his position behind Riley.

"I'm going to use my gift to shield us from this explosion!"

The air around them become extremely electrified as Riley placed her hands over the bomb device, as the timer now showed 2 seconds left.

"Hold On!"

The bomb went off like a crack of thunder, with the force of a hurricane. Riley hadn't really done anything like this before, but she had no choice. Focusing her mind she released her power and used it to create a shield to protect them both. The strain was more than she had expected but her strength of will was immense no way was she going to die now, at least not like this.

Riddick standing behind Riley was amazed by what he was seeing she had kept the main brunt of the explosion away from them, he wasn't even singed. They were still alive Riley's power was containing the explosion, as the impact subsided her telekinetic shield went down and she fell backwards. Riddick instinctively caught her he figured it was the least that he could do. The bar was filled with smoke and fire, most of the building was in ruins.

"See . . . I told you" she mumbled before she passed out in Riddick's arms.

He couldn't believe what she had just done for him she could have let him die and just saved herself. Touching her neck and holding her wrist he checked her pulse, she was still alive. The last person to do anything quite so crazy for him had been Carolyn Fry. She had sacrificed herself to save him and it had helped him to bring back his humanity. Why in the hell were these women risking themselves to save his ass? He was also mad now that Gabriel had simply tried to off him like that, he wanted to face this bastard and kill him. There was only one way that would happen if he allowed Drake to capture them.

Outside in the street people had gathered and were watching the destruction of the Zatland Bar, the flames moved wildly in every direction spitting and popping as they went. There was a gaping hole filled with smoke and flames where the Zatland sign used to be. Drake was amongst the crowd watching, he wondered about the look on Riddick's face just as he realised there was no way out for him this time as he grinned to himself. He was now looking forward to seeing the dead body of Richard B. Riddick a man who was truly no match for him. Men came with extinguishers to put out the fire leaving just the smoke at what used to be the entrance.

Looking at Riley's face as he held her in his arms, Riddick whispered to her, his voice croaking from the smoke in the air.

"This is for the best Riley and we both get to get our man!"

Drake led his men in to the half damaged building through the still smoke filled entrance the wooden door black and half hanging on its hinges. He pushed the door and it just fell away from its frame completely allowing even more black smoke to come bellowing out. Inside Riddick heard that he wouldn't be alone for long now people were coming, most likely Drake to inspect his handy work bastard that he is. He lay down beside Riley to make himself look like he had passed out as well. He had to bide his time and wait for the right moment to take Drake's head. Riddick figured that Gabriel being the scientist he was would change his mind and want them both alive for experimentation after their miraculous survival from his bomb. No way would he give up the chance to examine live specimens he thought. Pretending to be unconscious now he lay in wait.

"Fan out boys!! . . . . I want every piece of their bodies gathered for the Boss! . . . . . Don't miss a single bit!

Drake shouted in between coughs from inhaling the smoke around him. His men moved out coughing and spluttering as they went. Floorboards creaked all over and there were still some small fires inside that were still burning. One of the men called out for him saying that he had found something he really needs to see. He wondered what it could possibly be, maybe Riddick's head hanging by a thread of skin from his neck and if that was the case he was keeping his head as a trophy!

To his shock, there in the middle of the floor were the bodies of Riddick and Sinclair totally unharmed. Rubbing his eyes in disbelief now he asked one of his men to check they were alive and he confirmed that they were after checking their pulses. Drake whipped out his comm. Link and called Gabriel.

"Hey Gabe"

"You had better not be calling me to tell me that you could find no remains from their bodies Drake?"

"Actually we have all their parts"

"Really . . . . I do believe a reward is well deserved Drake"

"Well not exactly cos they are still alive"

"What do you mean still alive? They can't be? How is that possible?"

"I don't know, but I'm guessing that woman had something to do with it, you want me to kill them anyway and bring you their corpses?"

Gabriel thought to himself for a moment. Riley was more powerful than he had expected and a more worthwhile project if she was still alive. He might even be able to persuade her to work with him or just re-program her if she disagreed.

"No bring them both to me alive, and if any of your so called grease monkeys dare to explore the unconscious body of Sinclair . . . I will remove their hands and eyes and leave them to live as freaks forever! Is that clear?"

"Crystal Clear Gabriel"


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Riddick . . . ?"

From the darkness she heard a growling sound beckoning to her. A hand reached out and stroked her face, and combed slowly through her hair. The hand moved down her neck, slowly trailed down her chest where it stopped to caress her breast through her vest top. Riley moaned silently in delight, no longer holding back her emotions for what her body secretly craved from this one man she felt could truly satisfy her.

She reached out her hands to find his body, her fingers glided over his chest which she could feel was damp with sweat. Gripping his vest top she pulled him in close for a passionate embrace, she felt his face he was smiling and the goggles were off. He whispered in her ear.

"Riley, I want you so bad now baby"

"I want you too Riddick . . . ". She said breathlessly.

They kissed deeply, lips locking his hands travelled up and down her back as he reached down and grabbed her ass and lifted her up to wrap her legs around his waist. To his joy he felt that she was only wearing a thong and no pants now. The touch of her soft silken skin drove him wild. She wrapped her arms around his neck and strong muscular shoulders as she then reached down to pull off his vest. He in turn pulled her top off as well, and buried his face in between her large ample bare breasts. As he playfully teased her nipples with his tongue and teeth he growled deeply in enjoyment, while Riley moaned in pleasure to his teasing of her body.

Riddick carried her over to a bed, he had no problem with his vision in the dark, laying her down gently he lay down on top of her and continued to kiss her, now their passion was growing wild and begging for release. She helped him to remove his pants and felt that he was primed and ready for action and extremely well endowed. In turn he removed her thong to find that she was very wet in anticipation of his big package. She looked at him now eagerly awaiting him to set her free.

"Don't hold back Riddick, release the animal within you and set me free"

Without a word, he simply growled in response, and pounced on her like a wild animal. Upon entering her body, they began to move as one in unison. Both moaning and grunting, the air became electrified as Riley released the beast within herself; objects flew around the room as they both began to hover above the bed. She could feel Riddick claw at her back and bite her neck now as she bit him in return. They could feel that the other was close now. Gripping her hands tightly and holding them above her head she could feel his body go tense.

"I'm . . . Ready . . . Riddick to show you"

"Now!" he shouted

He released himself deep inside her, as a heavenly glow came all over her whole body as she came too; they both fell from the air and landed on the bed with a bump.

"Riley . . . Riley . . . you ok?" he whispered

Jumping awake to find her head throbbing, she reached her hand to her head to find she was now handcuffed. _Not the most flattering of jewellery to wear on your wrist these days_ she thought. On her head she could feel a mechanism of some sort was strapped around her forehead. _This can't be good_ she thought. Trying to sit up and move her legs she found that her legs were chained together as well. _What the fuck happened to me?_ Opening her eyes wide as her vision cleared now she heard a familiar voice that called to her from the other side of what appeared to be a prison cell.

"I'm . . . Fine . . . I think?"

"You were moaning and groaning just now and you called out my name in your sleep, what was that about?"

Only just vividly her mind flashed to some images as she rubbed her eyes. _Did I just dream about what I think I dreamed about? And he heard what I . . . Oh God why are you so cruel to me_ . . . She aimed to hide her embarrassment, as much as she had secretly enjoyed her dream, no way was she telling Riddick about it.

"I'm not sure … I can't remember."

She hoped that he would leave it at that and not ask her any more questions. But Riddick had other ideas, he had been waiting for Riley to wake up for the past few hours since Drake and his men had put them in the cell. Waiting for a sign that she was ok, he was curious now after all her talking in her sleep and he wasn't letting it go now.

"Were you dreaming about me . . . Sexy? The two of us, having some fun, perhaps?"

"I don't remember Riddick, Now quit bugging me and explain to me where the fuck we are?!"

Riddick quietly laughed to himself as he sat up and turned himself towards Riley. She noticed that he was chained and handcuffed as well and she was hoping that he had a good explanation for it. If he didn't give her a good answer she was going to kick his ass; in the hope that it would take her mind off the throbbing pain in her head, if only for a moment. Figuring that the new piece of jewellery around her head was blocking her from accessing her telekinesis, thus adding to her headache she wasn't in the best of moods.

"You have Gabriel Chambers to thank for our new lodgings, he wants you alive now, I'm just here for the ride you promised me" he grinned at her smugly.

It was then that she realised that they were being watched, as the only ride she had ever offered him was in her ship, which meant escape. She understood now that he had indeed allowed them to be captured but only so that they could take the fight directly to Gabriel himself. Though she couldn't understand why Riddick simply didn't leave her behind and escape by himself. She played along with him.

"If you want that ride, you will have to come and get it big boy!" she grinned back with a sly wink that was only noticeable to Riddick alone.

He moved in slowly as the chains on his ankles restricted his movement as they clattered and clanged all the way. Jumping on Riley they banged in to the cell wall together, she had managed to get her arms around his neck, though it was difficult with the handcuffs on. In between loud gasps and passionate kissing they whispered to one another.

"I'm only here as I have a score to settle with Drake, after that I'm gone"

"Ok . . . . I'll deal with Gabriel"

"But if I get the chance to take down Gabriel I'm going for it and I will take your ship and leave you here"

She wasn't surprised by his response, and had expected as much.

"Fine, but I am not dead yet . . . Remember the deal!" and she meant it as she stared him directly in his eyes without flinching.

Bringing up her knee just enough thankfully the chains allowed her to go so far. She kneed Riddick in the groin and released him from her arms as he grunted and fell to his knees. He hadn't expected her to do that. Maybe she was pissed by his response, not that he cared, why should he? He wondered. It was who he was after all and what he was all about. This was what he did best, escape from what people called inescapable places and he wasn't going to carry her out of here. She needed to get out herself, prove to him her survival instinct was strong. Though she had already saved his life once and surprised him in more ways than one, he needed more from her and yet he didn't want to see her die.

"That's the only kind of ride you will ever get from me! Riddick and don't you fucking forget it!!"

He liked that she wasn't scared or intimidated by him, admired her strength. Although he was thinking he will be more cautious around her from now on as the pain in his groin subsided. Watching her as she sat back on her bed, the unemotional look that she gave him now was troubling. Was she just putting it on for the camera or had he pushed her away for good?

Drake entered the Cellblock with two guards. Both Riley and Riddick shifted their gaze to watch him through the bars.

"Nice to see you back with us in the land of the living Ms. Sinclair, Gabriel would like to see you now"

"Tell Gabriel, I've got something more interesting to do like watch these bars all day . . . Ok"

"He does have a surprise for you and he never gives anyone a gift, you've become quite special to him"

"I'm not interested in being bloody special to him!"

Without a word, Drake raised his hand to reveal a remote control device. He smiled as he pointed it in Riley's direction.

"Well you can tell him yourself cos he wants to see you now and what Mr Chambers wants . . . He gets"

A volt of electricity fired from the device on Riley's head and caused her to convulse uncontrollably before she collapsed and fell to the floor. Riddick stayed seated where he was, it angered him to see Riley hurt like that especially by that bastard Drake. He couldn't understand why it angered him so much, did he care about Riley more than he realised? Could he really leave her with that bastard Gabriel? The two guards came in to pick up Riley's body; they dragged her out and closed the gate behind them.

"Don't worry Riddick; I got big plans for you too! Just you wait and see!"

Riddick stared back at Drake stone faced as he thought _I'm ready for you dip shit and this time you will die._


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Waking up to find she could barely open her eyes due to a big, bright, white light that was right over face. She groaned and swore under her breath as she tried to cover her face with her hands and found that she could not. Her hands were being held down at her sides and she couldn't move her legs or sit up either. As her eyes adjusted to the light she tried to look around as she heard footsteps coming towards her.

"I am so glad to see you awake my dear!"

"Wish I could say the same! Oh Shit you know what! No I can't cos I wish you would drop dead instead!"

"You do have a wicked tongue on you though, and I do like a woman who speaks her mind . . . "

Reaching to touch her face, Gabriel stroked her hair and then caressed her cheek as Riley struggled to turn her face away. She was even more beautiful than he remembered and it had been sometime since he had been in the company of an attractive woman. Glad now that he had not killed her and lost his chance to be with her. His hand moved down her neck to her chest. He licked his lips as he thought about the fun that they would have together once he had re-programmed her to be his partner. For now at least until he got bored with her and possibly found another new toy to keep his attention.

Back in the prison cell Riddick sat alone, he had already worked out how he would escape. He just wasn't leaving till he had his final moment with Drake. Choosing not to think about Riley and believing she could look after herself he focused on his own agenda. The main door opened and a young man came in, his hair was mouse brown, short and spiky. Wearing a dark blue uniform, he appeared to have a tool belt as various items jingled as he walked towards the bars of the cell.

"I have looped the cameras and only have a few minutes available to talk with you"

Riddick turned his head slowly and looked over at the young man. His face stern in acknowledgement he might as well hear what this guy has to say.

"I'm listening, but first I need to know something . . . Who are you?"

"My name is Jay . . . Jason"

"Oh . . . your Riley's friend, you are supposed to be dead u know?"

"I might as well be Gabriel has re-programmed me just as I knew he would. But I . . . . . prepared myself for that, set up a way for my brain to bring me back and retain my personality. I know it worked because I set it to activate when I saw Riley. Unfortunately it would seem that Gabriel has found a way to counteract my own programming as I can feel everything that I am being erased from my mind slowly."

Riddick didn't say a word he just looked at Jay, the guy was tough and being brave despite his situation. He could see now why Riley wanted to look out for him. His lack of emotion angered Jay he didn't want Riddick feeling sorry for him. Jay felt that he had bargained with the devil and he had to pay the price for that.

"I don't need your help Riddick; or your pity but I do need you to help Riley get away from this place"

"Why would she need my help?"

"I have rigged the self-destruct mechanism for this whole complex to go off in 60 minutes. I want Gabriel to burn in hell for what he has done to me and so many other people using my knowledge!!" Jay said as he gripped the bars of the cell tightly.

Before Jay knew what was happening Riddick had grabbed him through the bars in a vice like grip, that he could not pull himself away from. Riddick's plan for escape was fucked now he had to make his move sooner than he had wanted to. _Why the fuck did these guys like to blow people up so fucking much shit_ . . . He thought.

"Open the damn gate!!"

"Only if you are going to help Riley"

"Jay I could kill you right now where you stand and go about my business with great ease!"

Hating the fact that this guy had the cheek to even try to control him he gripped Jays head even tighter. He was tempted now to bang it against the bars to show Jay who really was in control here. Feeling his head almost about to burst from Riddick's vice like grip he gave in and opened the gate to set Riddick free.

After unlocking his chains and giving him back his goggles he pleaded for Riddick to help Riley. Riddick didn't want to abandon her; he owed her for saving his life at the bar after all. But it really wasn't his fight and he believed that she could take care of herself.

"I'm not interested in your fight with Gabriel, but I do owe Riley for my life so I'll do what I can"

Jay struggled to smile as he staggered a little. The pain from his continued reprogramming was increasing, and he figured he didn't have much time left now. Beads of sweat were forming on his forehead and his vision was getting a little blurry. He was determined to hold for as long as he could for Riley's sake.

"I am glad that Sin has someone like you to help her"

"Sin? Who are you talking about? . . . Oh you mean Riley?"

"Sorry that was my nickname for her when we were growing up cos we always got in to trouble. Which she always somehow managed to get us out of"

He smiled to himself glad that he could still remember those moments for now. Riddick put his goggles on as he watched Jay for a moment and felt like putting the poor guy out of his misery. But he knew full well that was not what he wanted.

"Where did Drake take her?"

"To the basement level, two floors below us and the self destruct device is a floor beneath them"

Scoping out the area upon his arrival, as he pretended to be unconscious unnoticed by the guards. Riddick knew that there was an elevator outside at the end of the corridor. They left the room and headed for the elevator. The corridor was dimly lit with dark black grey walls. Jay was just managing to keep up with Riddick's fast pace. A buzzing sound then emanated from Jay, he looked down realizing that Gabriel was demanding his presence. Just then the elevators came alive with the sound that someone was coming. Both Riddick and Jay hid down one of the hallways off the corridor. As the doors opened none other than Drake stepped out with Rax close behind him.

"This is the moment that I have prepared for Rax I'm gonna take Riddick apart piece by piece!"

Drake laughed loudly and Rax looked back at him not amused he was still nursing the broken arm that Riley had given to him the night before. Watching from their hiding place having just slid up his goggles to his forehead Riddick smiled a sly grin. He was now looking forward to wiping the smile off Drakes face. Jay grabbed Riddick's wrist only to be met with a horrific look from Riddick.

"Be careful with Drake he's tougher than he looks . . . Gabriel modified him"

"I figured as much"

"He's a cyborg now . . . Part man, Part machine. I have to go to Gabriel now Riddick he's calling for me"

"Why? Is that him buzzing you?"

"Yes . . . He more than likely wants to show me to Riley . . . To torture her"

"Go . . . keep him distracted . . . I have a loose end to tie up here"

Looking at Riddick, Jay knew the man was serious and he no longer doubted his trust. He reached down to his tool belt and removed a sharp shiny handled object.

"Here . . . Hope that this can help you. It's a shiv that I made it has a sharp acidic edge that will cut through almost anything"

"As long as it does what I need it to do"

Taking the weapon he replaced his goggles and Jay accepted that this was as close as he was going to get to hearing a thank you from Riddick. Jay waited for Riddick to signal that he could go as he then headed down an alternate corridor and disappeared from Riddick's view. Crouching down with his back to the wall Riddick lay in wait, he needed to be careful as he didn't want to give Drake or Rax the chance to raise the alarm.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"Now it's time for the show to really begin for you Ms. Sinclair. . . Let me know when it gets too scary for you!" Gabriel smirked at Riley.

Riley looked back at Gabriel with a stone cold fascination she was not about to give the man any kind of emotional reaction. She had figured out that he liked that way too much and it simply spurred him on to even more crazed ravings. The table Riley was occupying had begun to move as the top half of her body was tilted upwards. It made her appear as though she were in an actual standing position except she was stuck fastened to a table.

A side door then opened down the left hand side of the room. Gabriel's grin widened even more to Riley's disgust as she wondered what he was about to do next. She heard footsteps now as she realised that some one else had entered the room now.

"Riley I do believe your special guest has finally arrived! Ta Da!!"

Staring in fascination as the stranger who had entered came in to view. She couldn't believe it, there in front of her was Jay and he was alive.

While in the corridor Riddick still crouched down waiting in anticipation for his chance to attack Drake. Drake was walking down the walkway with Rax busily gloating about the ways in which he was going to kill Riddick and keep certain parts of his anatomy as a trophy.

"I think after I kill Riddick I will keep his head on a stick"

After hearing this Riddick stepped out from the shadows of the corridor he was hiding in.

"Drake I'm shocked, a simple man like you acting all tough and chatting bull shit like that"

Riddick grinned as a light flashed across the front of his goggles. Drake stopped dead in his tracks he was shocked to see Riddick out of his cell and restraints. But then how could he expect any less from the man who escaped from the Triple max Security Prison Butcher Bay. He decided to play it cool this was his chance, the moment he had been waiting for all these years and he was not about to fuck it up.

"Well . . . Well if it isn't the big bad goggle man who has escaped from his cage to come and kick my ass!"

"Be careful Drake don't go getting way ahead of yourself now you might just wind up dead"

Rax stood there in shock behind Drake. He did not want to get involved in a fight with Riddick after having Riley break his arm which was bad enough. He turned and ran to raise the alarm. Drake turned to watch as Rax ran towards the elevator.

"Rax what are you doing?!"

Rax shouted back "I'm raising the alarm! Calling for back up Drake! What the fuck do you think I'm doing!?!"

Then without warning Drake took out his gun and aimed it at Rax whose back was to him now. He fired it and unluckily for Rax his aim was good. Rax collapsed to the ground as the impact of the shot passed right through his back and made his stomach explode in front of him. His entrails, intestines all hung out of the gaping hole that had replaced his stomach as he fell to his knees. Before he could feel the full brunt of the pain he was dead.

"Sorry Rax I just can't let you take this moment from me!"

Drake turned now to look at Riddick who hadn't moved an inch. His gun was now pointed at Riddick. He pondered the idea of how easy it would be to simply blow Riddick away right where he stood. But he knew that was just way too easy and he had sacrificed so much to be able to take this man down one on one no holds barred. Riddick stayed cool he had been in many situations like this and worse before as he stared stone faced back at Drake. He wasn't about to let a guy like Drake bring him down so easily. Drake wanted a shot at taking him down and he was going to give it to him.

"So Drake is this how it's going to be? I thought you wanted to be a real man and kill me with your bare hands?"

Riddick gestured with his hands in a sparring stance as he spoke in his low growling tones. Drake looked at him as a sly grin crossed his face. He lowered the gun slowly and threw it to one side as it clattered to the floor. No way was he going to fall for Riddick's little ploy.

"Your right Riddick I do want to kill you with my bare hands and your little mind game won't work on me I'm too smart for that!"

"O really let's see how truly smart you are then shall we"

Drake pulled out a knife from its case on his back, the blade was about 15 inches long as he hurled his long jacket to the ground. He took on his fighting stance making a goading signal to Riddick with his free hand. Riddick just smirked and responded.

"Bring it!"

Riddick pulled out the shiv that Jay had given to him and went to attack Drake. He just managed to avoid a cut from Drake's blade as he ducked and stepped back at great speed and lunged forward to lash out with a knife and punch attack to Drakes face. He managed to nick his face across the cheek leaving a red line of blood as his mark. Drake was now extremely annoyed as he yelled, he then rammed himself into Riddick's stomach and knocked him down to the ground. Drake now had his blade poised in front of Riddick's face as Riddick struggled to hold Drakes arm off from stabbing him. He noted Drakes enhanced strength as he just about managed to kick him up and over his head.

"Come on Drake is that all you got! All those fucking enhancements and you still can't kick my ass!"

Riddick was now holding two blades in his hands the shiv Jay had given him and the other was the blade that he had managed to pull away from Drake during their scuffle. He knew Drake was holding back and he needed to see what he could really do since the bomb was still ticking away and he didn't have time to play games with the man. Drake stood up and laughed at Riddick.

"So you do know about my changes after all. I guess there is no point in hiding them now as I kill you!!"

Right before Riddick's eyes Drakes left arm transformed and became a spiked ball and chain as he fired it at Riddick. He avoided it as it flew past his head and impacted with the wall. The chain retracted as the ball flew back to Drake as he fired it out again in another attack on Riddick. The ball flew towards Riddick's legs but he jumped and rolled out of the way as it smashed in to the ground. Then Drake swung it around his head and threw it to aim directly at Riddick's chest.

Riddick waited till the last split second before he made his move as the ball was within inches of his chest he side stepped and leaped at Drake. His right foot connected with Drakes face as he then brought down the blade that Jay had given him to cut the chain. Drake staggered back in shock trying to shake off the blow and loss of his weapon. Then with Drakes own blade he stabbed him directly through the heart. Drake fell to his knees like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

"Told you to be careful what you wish for" Riddick whispered in his low tone as he began to walk away.

"Where the fuck you going Riddick we aren't done yet!" Drakes head looked up and back at Riddick with a big dirty grin.

"Its not gonna be that easy to kill me this time Riddick" Drake began pulling the blade out of his chest as he stood up.

Riddick in disbelief turns around after hearing Drake speak. He has a grim look on his face as he looks back over at Drake who is now fully standing with the blade in his hand.

"Well I figured it was too easy to kill you like that and you have just proved my theory"

Grinning at Drake now Riddick ran towards him; still clutching the blade that Jay had given to him. He baited Drake to attack him. Drake smiled back as he stared back at Riddick, he wasn't taking the bait this time. The spiked ball that had been Drakes hand and was now embedded in the wall came to life as it began to spin and break free from the wall. The spikes had extended as the ball flew through the air fast towards Riddick who only just managed to avoid the weapon as it slashed him across his arm. Riddick took cover down a hallway; he noticed that the main power console for the whole level was just behind Drake.

"Are you having a little trouble there Riddick? Scared you might just die this time!" Drake said as he laughed out loudly.

Riddick ignoring Drake's comments responded with a sly grin.

"So Drake I'm curious did Gabriel happen to remove your balls as well? Not that they were that big to begin with right?"

Drake couldn't believe the nerve Riddick had to question his status as a man. He lost his temper and the spinning spike which was controlled by radio signals from the computerised part of his brain began to blow sparks. Riddick jumped out and took a run towards Drake. The spinning spike flew after Riddick as he kicked Drake in the face and only just ducked as the spike came charging towards his head. The spike flew over Riddick and crashed in to the power console. The power went out as darkness enveloped the two men now. Drake was no where near as used to the darkness as Riddick as he picked himself up off the floor and his night vision kicked in. Riddick was no where in sight as he scanned the dark corridor. He was hiding above Drake in an air vent as he removed his goggles and watched him looking around for him in the darkness.

"I never thought that I would see the day that you Riddick would be running scared from me!!?!" Drake Laughed.

Riddick silently dropped down behind Drake with the stealth of a cat.

"What made you think I was running?"

Drake jumped at the sound of Riddick's voice from behind him as he used his remaining arm to thrust his blade at Riddick who was ready for him. Riddick swiftly took his shiv and with the ease of a skilful artist he cut his remaining arm away. As Drake fell forward from the shock Riddick had now rotated 360 degrees at great speed. He was bringing his blade around with all his strength as it impacted with Drakes neck and went clean through. Drake's headless body fell to the floor with a thud.

"Like I said I did warn you, be careful what you wish for"

He walked away as he checked the timer Jay had given him there was now only 15 minutes left before the bomb exploded. Riddick thought about leaving but only for a split second he owed Riley for saving his life before. This was the exact reason he preferred to be alone, no trouble no bother just worrying about number one. When others get involved it gets all complicated and security is compromised. All manner of thoughts went through his mind as he raced to help Riley.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"Jay . . . . . Is that really you? . . . . Jay?"

The young man in front of Riley made no attempt to respond. Although she did notice that there were beads of sweat on his forehead and top lip. It was like he was struggling with something. She wanted to jump free of her shackles and hug him, she was just so happy to see him alive.

"I'm afraid he only listens to me my dear . . . I re-programmed him to be my personal slave . . . At least for the moment anyway. What do you think?" Gabriel stood there admiring his handiwork to Riley's annoyance.

"You . . . . Evil son of a bitch! Gabriel!!"

Riley could feel her anger welling up inside her, she had arrived too late to save him. The one person she would risk anything for and she had come too late. As she stared blankly at Jay she noticed that he had winked at her. It was then that she realised that he was ok and just playing along with Gabriel. Keeping her emotions calm she played up to Gabriel.

Moving closer to Riley, Gabriel called for Jay to move with him. He took a gun from his waist and handed it to Jay. Riley began to wonder what kind of game he was playing.

"Jason, would you mind shooting Riley in her leg or maybe an arm perhaps? Just to prove a point about how loyal you are to me" he said; his eyes wide with icy fascination.

Riley wasn't so much scared, as she was getting angry at the fact that Gabriel had control of this situation. Jay had taken the gun from Gabriel and was taking aim at Riley now. The strain of his mind being rapidly erased was starting to take its toll on him. His hand began to shake as he tried to hold the gun steady but he could barely focus on what he was aiming at. He was happy that he had been able to see Riley face to face again he had truly missed her more than he realised. Jay knew he had to fight this he could not wilfully allow any harm to come to her no matter what.

"Don't do it Jay! Don't listen to Gabriel he did this to you made you his bloody puppet!"

He knew she was right as he fired a shot that thankfully for Riley missed her but it did hit the locking mechanism for her table. Jay then swung round to point the gun at Gabriel who was ready and waiting for this action as he disarmed him. He held the gun up aimed at Jays head as he looked at him coldly.

"Did you really think that you could fool me Jason? Well guess what the last laugh is on you!"

Without warning he fired the gun point blank. The left side of Jay's brain exploded with the impact of the energy bolt from the gun as blood and bone fragments hung and flowed freely from his wound. He then fell to the ground and his eyes rolled in to his head so that all that could be seen were the whites of his bloodshot eyes.

Gabriel stood over the now lifeless body of Jason Munroe and laughed wickedly. Riley couldn't believe what had just happened. Tears streamed down her face as anger and rage welled up inside her now. The crown on her head started to blow sparks as the fuses blew out. She was losing total emotional control and her powers were starting to reach out uncontrolled. The monitors close by started to flicker and fuzz over unnoticed by Gabriel.

"You should not have done that!! Is there no shred of humanity within you?!!"

"Humanity? . . . . . I would have to say that I am far beyond that my dear. I'm not even human anymore. Didn't Jay explain that to you?!"

"What the hell are you?!" Riley said gruffly to him.

"A product of my own scientific genius! I'm going to add your abilities to my own, failing that I'll either clone you or re-program you."

"I won't let you have my powers Gabriel and I won't allow you to harm anymore innocent people for your barbaric experiments!!"

"O" really and what exactly could you possibly do to stop me while you are stuck to my table my dear" he began to laugh at her predicament.

He abruptly stopped laughing as right before his eyes Riley lost control; the manacles holding her to the bed went flying across the room. Thankfully Jay's misfiring had weakened them enough for her to be able to break free she thought as tear fell down her cheek. Riley stepped off the bed and removed the crown from her head and dropped it to the ground.

"Guess I won't need this thing anymore"

She looked at Gabriel menacingly as he was no longer smirking now. He was astounded by her power, she was indeed stronger that he had realised, off the chart even. Gabriel pointed the gun at her he had to have the secrets to this power one way or another whether she was dead or alive. Riley's eyes flared brightly like they were on fire, she had never felt this charged before.

"I'm not that easy to kill Gabriel!" She shouted at him as the monitors in the room started to explode one by one. Gabriel didn't flinch as he responded.

"We shall see" He liked the challenge and he was ready to play her game.

Firing his gun at her, a burst of energy was heading towards Riley now. Maintaining her focus she raised her right hand and deflected the energy pulse as it impacted with a wall and exploded. Turning her attention to Gabriel she focused and made the gun fly out of his hand. As she focused a little more she waved her hand and sent Gabriel flying through a wall. Her powers were wildly out of control due to her emotional state as objects began to fly around the room. She calmed herself as she walked over to Jay's body and kneeled down. Objects began to drop from the air around her as they lost their capacity to fly. The glow emanating from her died down now as she rolled him over and stroked the right side of his face that was still in tact.

"I killed him Jay . . . I made him pay for what he did to you . . . " She held his hand as she wished that she had been able to tell him how much she loved him and that no matter what the circumstance she would always be there for him.

Riley heard a sound coming from the wall where Gabriel had landed. It was the sound of movement. She wondered if Gabriel might still be alive. Just then as she stood up she heard a voice from behind her as she was grabbed by the throat.

"You really didn't believe that it would be that easy to kill ME . . . Did you my dear" He said with a big dirty grin across his face.

He held Riley up by her throat as she gasped for air. Her feet were no longer touching the ground as she struggled to try and free herself from his grip and focus her mind. All manner of objects in the room that weren't fastened down began to fly around like there was a hurricane storm in the place. Gabriel slammed Riley in to a wall hard as it cracked with an imprint of her body stuck in to it, knocking the wind out of her. Luckily she had used some of her telekinesis to take the brunt of the impact only just. She tried using her telekinesis to levitate them off the ground. His grip only got tighter as she struggled for air as she tried to punch and kick at Gabriel. Her vision was going blurry as everything began to fade to black. _I don't want to die like this_ she thought.

From within the darkness Riley heard a movement to her right and then a swish of metal as it connected with its target to cut clean through.

"Mind if I cut in Riley?" a deep voice growled.

She forced her eyes open as she recognised the voice of the man who was holding her now. Gabriel's hand was still around her neck but his body was down on the ground. There beside her was Riddick hanging from a roof beam. Riley wrenched off Gabriel's hand and threw it as far as she could away from her as she hurriedly fell down to the ground. Riddick swung from the beam and timed his impact with the wall as he back flipped to land beside her in a matter of seconds.

"No I don't mind if you do!" She said hoarsely as she rubbed her sore neck and tried to breathe normally. _What the fuck is it with men grabbing me by the neck lately_ she thought?

Gabriel stood up with his single left arm still attached and the most evil of grimaces across his face. He waved his bloodied stump at Riddick.

"You bastard! How dare you mess with my perfection!! I have been around long before you were even thought of! You are beneath me Riddick!"

"I am beneath no man. I may not be from your world Gabriel, but where I come from when you try to blow someone up and fail, you gotta pay the price."

"Is that right Riddick, well then by all means make me pay the price . . . But first how about I even the odds a little"

Riddick looked at Gabriel through his goggle covered eyes wondering what the man was talking about. Riley who was down on her knees trying to get her breath back as her vision was still slightly blurry. Her vision cleared a little more as she stared in Gabriel's direction. Right then before their eyes they heard some popping and clicking sounds coming from the bloodied stump, where Gabriel's arm used to be. Five lumps began to push their way out. Gabriel made no attempt to scream, he just simply stood their continuing his gory performance. It was then that they both realised he was growing a new arm; he had the ability to regenerate!

An alarm started to go off as a red light flashed up everywhere in the room. Then a voice was heard over the main sound system. Self Destruct set to detonate in T minus 5 minutes please evacuate and get to a safe distance. Gabriel's eyes opened wide with shock, the wind had just been taken out of his sails as his brief moment of glory had now been deflated.

"What the fuck is going on around here? I decide to take things in to my own hands and the place leaps in to chaos!" The look on Gabriel's face was incredulous.

"Yea this was Jason Munroe's special gift to you; I knew you would like it!" Riddick said with a smile across his lips.

Gabriel then leapt at Riddick like a crazed animal. His punch attack just missed Riddick's face by an inch although he managed to connect with a punch to his stomach. Riddick slightly winded from the punch lashed out with his shiv as he slashed Gabriel across his chest. Gabriel grunted from the pain and elbowed Riddick in the face. Riddick head butted Gabriel in the face breaking his nose as blood began to flow freely from it. But then within seconds the wound was healed. Gabriel had managed to knock the shiv out of Riddick's hand as they brawled bare fisted now. Riddick was starting to tire he couldn't regenerate like Gabriel but he wouldn't give up either, he was too stubborn for that.

T minus 4 minutes till self destruct! The sound system continued to announce repeatedly.

Gabriel then grabbed Riddick and smashed him in to a wall hard. He then smacks him on to a table like a slab of meat he is about to cook. Taking up one of his electric shock devices he moved in to give a slightly dazed Riddick the shock of his life. Riley from halfway across the room struggles to get to her feet to see what is going on as things have suddenly gone all quiet. She sees that Gabriel has turned the device to the highest level on the dial and is about use it on Riddick. Knowing that she would not be able to move to stop him fast enough she reaches out with her mind. Gabriel freezes unable to move, while now coming out of his daze Riddick instinctively grabs the device from Gabriel and uses it on him. Thousands of volts pulsate through his body as he reacts uncontrollably and begins frothing at the mouth. He then flies in to the wall courtesy of Riley. Riddick then picks up his blade and embeds it directly through Gabriel's heart and into the wall behind him, just as his body was starting to heal from being electrocuted.

"I think you should stick around for the main show now Gabriel." He growled.

"T minus 3 minutes until self destruct" the announcement continued.

"How dare you do this to me? Get me down from here! I can help you Riley, to reach your full potential. We could rule the universe together!"

Riley looked at Gabriel.

"Burn in hell!"

"Let's go Riddick" as she turned to him now.

Riddick helped her up as he put her arm around his neck and he had is arm round her waist to support her.

"We gotta move quickly now. If you slow me down I will leave you here to die"

"I know . . . lets move" she glanced over at the dead body of Jay and silently she wished that he was in heaven now free from all his pain.

Riddick moved swiftly with Riley as she made an effort to keep up her pace, she was determined that she was not going to die down in this godforsaken place. They made their way down the corridor to the elevator with about 30 seconds to spare as they had to wait for the lift to arrive. The doors closed just as the explosion started. The elevator shook as it sped upwards, they heard a crash as the explosion had entered the shaft and the pressure of the explosion wanting to be released as it whooshed up the shaft under the elevator desperate to get out after them.

"We are cutting this pretty close!" Riddick maintained his cool as far as he was concerned it wasn't over till it's over.

"Maybe I can change that?"

Riley stood up and closed her eyes as she focused all the remains of her strength. Her eyes then flashed open and Riddick could feel the elevator moving faster now way ahead of the explosion. _She really was a rare gem_ he thought. The elevator then crashed through to the surface. The exit way was blocked as the doors would not open. Riddick managed to force open the ceiling panel and climb through. He reached back down for Riley to grab his hand.

"Riley c'mon grab for my hand"

"I can't Riddick it's taking all my strength to focus to hold the elevator where it is now."

"Trust me I won't let you fall. We are not gonna die here!"

She looked wide eyed up at Riddick had she really heard him say what she thought she heard. He really wanted her to trust him. His hand was dangling down over her head now as the strain become intense the fire from the explosion was under the elevator now and the floor was growing hot. Using all the energy she had left she focused and jumped with her telekinesis giving her an added boost. Riddick grabbed her hand in a vice like grip as the elevator began to fall away. It was then consumed by the fire that was below her feet now. He quickly hoisted her up away from the opening as they ran and jumped just as the flames exploded out of the hole. Debris flew in all directions as people all around scattered to hide.

"Thank you . . ." she said as she stood up and dusted herself off.

"No Problem" Riddick growled in response in his low tone.

Without warning from the sky came a whistling sound as a plank of wood debris hit Riley in the head hard. She collapsed unconscious to the ground.

"Riley! . . . Shit Riley! You okay!?" Riddick frantically checked her pulse, she was still alive thankfully as he smiled and started raising the alarm to call for help.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

_There it was yet again_ she thought as she struggled to open her eyes to the bright light that was above her face now. She wondered if all that had happened had been a dream. Was she back on Gabriel's table? Thankfully she found that she could reach her hands up to shield her eyes and there was no crown attached to her forehead. But there was a bandage, _oh yea_ she thought I was hit in the head or something boy did that hurt as she winced.

Looking around at the white clean sterile room, she realised that she was in a hospital as she then heard some funny noises coming from the corner of the room. It was slightly shaded in the corner but she made out the sleeping figure of Richard B. Riddick leaning back with his feet up. She slowly climbed out of her bed, her legs felt weak and her head spun a little but she continued on as she walked over to his sleeping body.

"Riley . . . ummm . . ." He mumbled.

As she stood over him she noticed he was still wearing his goggles even as he slept. She wondered why he was still around, why he hadn't taken her ship and left like he said he would. Riley shook him a little to stir him from his slumber. He jumped up and slightly knocked Riley, she stumbled but he caught her and helped her back to the bed.

"Thanks . . . . Again Riddick" she smiled as she sat down.

He looked at her and said nothing as he took his seat back in the chair he was sleeping in, as he found that he felt happy that she was ok.

"How long have I been out for?" she queried.

"Five days"

"And you waited around? Why? You could have been captured by Mercs?"

"I guess I just wanted to make sure that you were ok. After all you do still owe me a ride." He smiled at her.

"Yea I do" she smiled back.

Riley thought but just not the ride you might be dreaming of big boy. She knew he had been dreaming about her and she wanted to know what it was about. More than likely something sordid and naughty a wild fantasy of his that he would just have to get over.

"Hey you mumbled my name in your sleep, what were you dreaming about?"

Riddick slowly slumped back in to the chair as his face became covered in shadow. He racked his brain for a moment as he wondered what had he been dreaming about. Some vivid flashes of sexual images went through his mind as he thought was I really that relaxed. A grin crossed his face damn that was a good dream, shame I had to wake up though.

"Riddick . . . Hello? Are you still with me?"

Snapping back to reality he responded. "Yea Riley I'm with you"


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Three days later and Riley was feeling back up to full strength. Using her gift as much as she had a week ago had really taken it out of her more than she realised. Surprisingly enough Riddick had hung about on Sororian although he pretty much kept to himself. He did open up a little, telling her about his crash landing on an alien planet with three suns that had no night time but then went through a total eclipse. Where the darkness appeared would last days and maybe god knows how much longer. How the surviving members of the crash were slowly killed off one by one by the alien creatures on the planet. He explained about the Merc William Johns and how he died. Also about the young girl called Jack and the holy man Imam, the only other survivors who managed to escape alive from the planet with him.

She noted that he felt sad deep down not that he would ever admit it about having left Jack; that he felt responsible for her even and yet he wasn't comfortable with it. This was something to do with his always being a loner and feeling responsible for those who got hurt or even killed whenever they were with him. Riley in turn opened up slightly about herself, she explained about her life in the Galactic Forces. This included various battles and evil in many forms. They had both come to a kind of understanding and mutual respect about each other.

Riley was finally ready to leave the hospital and Sororian. She was packing the last of her bits and pieces as she waited for Riddick to meet her. He had said he would be only five minutes yet 10 minutes had passed. In the past few days Riley had noticed one thing about Riddick and that was how meticulous he was about his timing. He never said anything without meaning it. Something was indeed very wrong; she walked down the corridor to where his room was located. The first thing she noted was that the door had been broken in to. Pushing the door open she found that the room was in a mess like some sort of struggle had taken place.

Shit she thought Mercs have tracked him down. . .

Riley raced out of the hospital grabbing her hooded cloak on the way. She headed for the Space Port as she figured they would want to get Riddick off planet to a Prison Planet to claim their money as soon as possible.

With both his hands and feet handcuffed Riddick was slowly walking as best he could with the group of six mercs gathered around him. Five male and one female, they were all hooded and hiding their weapons under their cloaks.

"You guys really know how to travel in style don't you" Riddick grinned as he trudged along.

One of the Mercs behind nudged him hard with his gun and warned him to shut up and keep moving. Riddick stumbled a little but regained his composure; he looked back at the merc unimpressed by his so called bravado, and kept on walking.

Riley had chosen to race over the roof tops of downtown Sororian City. She used her telekinesis to give her extra speed as she flew over each building and arrived at a street not too far from the space port. Looking down from her angle she could see a troop of hooded individuals walking along gathered around a hand cuffed man . . . Riddick. Sneaking down in to an alley way she formulated a plan of attack as she decided to go for the direct approach.

Riley raced after the group and took out the two mercs that were walking behind Riddick as she used her telekinesis to toss them far behind her in to a wall. They both landed hard as they smacked in to the wall and fell unconsciously to the ground. Riddick turned to look at her as he smiled.

"What took you so long?" he said calmly.

Riley stared back in disbelief at his response, she wanted to smack him hard in the face but she knew it was his way of showing he was happy to see her. He knew she would come to help him, not that he needed her help. He appreciated that she cared about him and that he could trust her for now.

"Well I could have let them just take your ass away? Like you wanted them too . . . . Right?" she smiled.

She winked at him as she looked down at his manacles and each of the locks popped open as the chains fell to the ground. Riddick grinned at her as he rubbed his now free wrists.

"So can you unlock other things like that Riley? . . . You know like zippers and buckles etc.?"

Riley looked back at him as a smile crossed her lips as she cheekily replied.

"If I can you will never know"

The other four Mercs had turned round to look at them both now with their guns aimed in their direction.

"Hold it right there!"

Riddick and Riley turned and looked at the Merc and then at each other; they both reached out an arm and made a solid grip between the two of them. They had the same idea as Riddick did a quick 360 degree turn Riley was flung in to the air as she then kicked two of the Mercs solidly in their faces and they fell back. Riddick came up beside Riley as he finished off the two mercs. Shots were fired but Riley deflected them all back at the Mercs. The last two Mercs still standing managed to dodge the shots deflected back at them. One of them was the group leader as he removed his hood to reveal his half robotic face. He had obviously come off badly from another mission to capture some other convicts.

"Well well what's going on here? I love it when you boys put up a fight! It makes the whole chase more. . . .Satisfying!"

Riddick stared straight faced at the Merc as he spoke.

"So what do they call you . . . . . Metal face??" he replied with his deep growling voice.

The merc looked at Riddick as he saw his own horrific reflection in the convicts" goggles staring back at him. He had long got used to his physical appearance since the accident had happened during one of his previous merc hunts.

"The names Sekharan to you convict! And just who might your pretty saviour be? Messing up my plans and shit?"

Sekharan was curious now; his new crew of mercs were practically out for the count, he had hoped they would have lasted longer than his last crew. He had read Riddick's file and it didn't mention anything about him having a partner.

"That's not your concern Sekharan . . . If I were you I would be more worried about you and your crew getting hurt or worse killed especially now that I'm giving you the chance to just walk away"

Riddick said as he stood facing him, he didn't want to give the man any details on Riley, let alone have her linked to him in anyway. Sekharan looked back at Riddick he had never stood down from any convict he went after, but then none of them had ever broken free like Riddick. He didn't really care about the woman Riddick was the main prize. Taking in Riddick alive was an immense pay day the biggest he would ever have; he could retire and never have to hunt down a convict again.

"How about you just put the shackles back on and I let your pretty friend live and walk away from this!" His single human eye widened as he slyly grinned at Riddick and aimed his gun at him.

Riddick's jaw muscle tightened, _mercs they are all the same it's always about the damn money_ he thought.

"More guts than brains . . . And in your case this is more than likely true. The shackles thing just isn't gonna happen" Riddick's face was stone cold and non emotional.

Riley could feel the tension between the two men growing with neither backing down. As much as she liked this side of Riddick she really couldn't stand anymore of the macho bullshit between him and Sekharan. But she knew that Sekharan would more than likely let rip with his cannon of a gun and start firing upon them and she was sure Riddick knew what he was doing.

"Then I guess your saviour dies Mr. Riddick!" Sekharan pointed his gun directly at Riley and fired without a second thought.

Riddick didn't move an inch to intercept the blast at Riley as she simply smiled and deflected the blast back at Sekharan. Before he realised what was happening Sekharan's chest had exploded from the impact of his blast. He dropped to his knees as his gun fell from his arms. Riddick walked over and bent down to pick up the weapon as he looked into the single shocked eyeball on Sekharan' face, blood dribbled freely from his mouth.

"I told you that shackles thing wasn't gonna happen . . . "

Sekharan slumped to the floor dead and the last merc stood for a second staring back at Riddick in complete shock. The gun in his hands started to shake as he feared for his life. Without a second thought he chucked his gun to the ground and ran.

"You knew that would happen; didn't you?" Riley looked curiously over at him now holding a gun in his hand for a response.

Riddick looked back at her as he checked over the gun.

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't I just knew that you could look after yourself"

Riley stood in front of him with a slightly perplexed look on her face.

"Is that your way of saying . . . . That you trust me?"

"Possibly . . . "Riddick managed to grunt out as he started to walk ahead towards the space port.

She figured I suppose that's a start, although she was slightly miffed that he took a risk with her life like that. _He really does not know who he is messing with cos I can play games too _she thought.

"Hey wait up, what if I hadn't been paying attention?!" She shouted after him.

Riddick stopped dead in his tracks and turned with a slightly cheeky look on his face "I guess that's something we will never know . . . Is that a problem for you? "

"No it's not a problem at least I know where we stand now" she smiled back at him pleasantly.

"C'mon lets go now . . . unless you want to stay and break our deal?" He said as he raised an eyebrow curious to know what she was really thinking now. She was pondering the whole situation as she wondered if Riddick would have intervened to save her life. But she thought better of saying anything more for now; they were both alive and about to head off to some frozen waste land of a planet where she would say good bye to him possibly forever. Though it was nice to have met Riddick and he was a criminal she felt that she had finally met a kindred spirit and that was good enough to know for now.

"No we still have a deal Riddick . . . . I'm flying my ship just in case you have any ideas about commandeering it, I know all about you being a pilot amongst other things!" She jogged to catch up to him and then paused as a thought went through her mind. Before he could respond she said.

"Damn I didn't realise it before but did you know that taking the letters R...I...D off your name leaves you to be a total…. dick!? "She laughed as she quickly glanced directly at Riddick and saw the storm clouds forming around him as his face grew dark and he didn't say a word. _Damn that felt good teach him to mess with me _she thought before running on ahead to the space port.

Riddick didn't say a word as a vein popped in the side of his head and the muscle in his jaw clenched tighter than ever. He stared after her watching as she ran to the space port laughing. The shock of what she had just dared to say to him was reeling in his head now. _That woman is too fucking brave for her own good_ he thought as he let a tiny smile crossed his lips only just. But that's one of the reasons why I care about her I guess she's not scared of me . . . And that's a quality in a woman that I admire.


End file.
